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A   BRIEF  COURSE   IN   THE 
TEACHING   PROCESS 


Brief  Course  Series  In  lEbucatton 

EDITED    BY 

PAUL  MONROE,   Ph.D. 


BRIEF  COURSE   IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION 

Paul  Monroe,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  the  History  of  Education, 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 

BRIEF  COURSE   IN  THE   TEACHING  PROCESS 

George  D.  Strayer,  Ph.D.,   Professor    of   Educational    Ad- 
ministration, Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 

BRIEF  COURSE  IN  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  EDUCA- 
TION. John  Dewey,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Philosophy, 
Columbia  University.  In  preparation. 


Lb 


A  BRIEF   COURSE 


THE  TEACHING  PROCESS      j 


BY 

GEORGE   DRAYTON    STRAYER,  Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF   EDUCATIONAL  ADMINISTRATION,  FORMERLY 

ADJUNCT   PROFESSOR   OF   ELEMENTARY   EDUCATION 

TEACHERS   COLLEGE,   COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 


THE   MACMILLAN    COMPANY 
1916 

A/l  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1911, 
By  THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  October,  191 1.     Reprinted 
January,  March,  April,  September,  1912  ;  January,  July,  November, 
December,  191 3;  October,  December,  1914  ;  May,  1915;  January, 
1916. 


/^^^7 


3*  8.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


TO   MY  WIFE 


PREFACE 

*  This  book  is  the  direct  outcome  of  experience  in  trying 
to  help  teachers  grow  in  skill  in  the  art  of  teaching  and  in 
power  to  appreciate  the  work  in  which  they  are  engaged.  In 
the  following  pages  have  been  treated  as  concretely  as  possible 
the  problems  which  the  teacher  faces  day  after  day  in  the  class- 
room. Theories  of  education  have  not  been  discussed  at  any 
great  length,  but  rather  those  processes  through  which  these 
fundamental  principles  find  their  expression  in  actual  teaching. 

Terminology  which  it  is  difficult  for  teachers  to  understand 
has  been  avoided.  Although  the  results  of  studies  in  educa- 
tional psychology  and  in  experimental  pedagogy  have  been 
included  in  the  interpretation  of  the  problems  discussed,  it 
has  not  been  thought  advantageous  to  discuss  at  any  length 
any  one  of  these  investigations. 

Many  of  the  books  which  have  been  written  for  teachers 
have  discussed  theories  of  teaching  method  without  indicating 
clearly  the  application  of  these  principles  in  typical  classroom 
exercises.  In  other  volumes  a  single  type  of  teaching  has  been 
emphasized  to  the  exclusion  of  other  equally  vahd  methods 
of  instruction.  In  this  book  each  of  the  several  typical  meth- 
ods of  instruction  has  been  treated,  and  the  validity  of  the 
particular  practice  indicated  in  terms  of  the  end  to  be  accomp- 
Hshed,  as  well  as  the  technique  to  be  used.  Since  the  technique 
of  teaching  method  is  not  the  only  element  in  determining  the 
efficiency  of  the  teacher,  there  is  included  in  this  book  a 
discussion  of  those  other  aspects  of  the  teacher's  work  which 
determine  the  contribution  which  she  makes  to  the  education 
of  the  children  with  whom  she  works. 

vii 


viii  Preface 

In  the  chapter  on  lesson  plans  are  given  a  number  of  il- 
lustrations which  conform  to  the  types  of  exercises  discussed 
earUer  in  the  book.  One  of  the  greatest  needs  in  working 
with  teachers  is  met  by  this  very  definite  provision  for  demon- 
strating the  validity  of  the  types  of  teaching  discussed.  The 
exercises  given  at  the  end  of  each  chapter  are  intended  to 
supplement  the  discussions  of  the  book  by  calling  for  an  in- 
terpretation of  the  thought  there  presented  in  terms  of  situa- 
tions with  which  teachers  are  commonly  famiUar. 

To  Professors  F.  M.  McMurry,  Naomi  Norsworthy,  and 
L.  D.  Coffman,  each  of  whom  has  read  the  manuscript,  I  am 
indebted  for  many  valuable  suggestions.  To  Miss  Kirch wey  of 
the  Horace  Mann  School,  Miss  Steele  and  Miss  Wright  of  the 
Speyer  School,  to  Miss  Tall,  Supervisor  of  Grammar  Grades 
in  Baltimore  County,  Maryland,  and  to  Dr.  Lida  B.  Earhart 
of  the  New  York  City  Schools,  I  am  indebted  for  lesson  plans. 
The  outlines  for  the  study  of  English,  arithmetic,  geography, 
and  history  which  are  given  in  the  appendix  are  published 
with  the  permission  of  the  authors  and  of  the  Teachers  Col- 
lege Bureau  of  Publications. 

GEORGE  DRAYTON  STRAYER. 

Teachers  College,  Columbia  University, 
August  lo,  1911. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   I 

The  Aim  of  Education 

•PAGES 

Education  measured  by  differences  brought  about  in  individuals  — 
Various  statements  of  the  aim  —  The  individualistic  point  of  view 
has  been  emphasized  —  The  social  aim  of  education  —  Aim  real- 
ized in  various  types  of  education  —  Various  teaching  processes 
contribute  to  the  realization  of  the  aim  —  Test  of  the  teacher's 
work  the /r^j^;// realization  of  the  aim        ....  i-ii 

CHAPTER   n 
The  Factors  Conditioning  the  Teaching  Process 

Success  in  realizing  the  aim  of  education  depends  upon  a  clear  realiza- 
tion of  the  conditioning  factors  —  The  increased  responsibility  of 
the  school  —  The  necessity  for  knowledge  of  the  home  life  of 
children  —  The  instinctive  equipment  of  children  —  Play  —  Con- 
structiveness  —  Imitation  —  Emulation  —  Pugnacity  —  Curiosity 

—  Ownership  —  The  social  instinct  —  Wonder — The  importance 
of  interest  in  instruction  — The  danger  of  divided  interest  —  In- 
terest as  means  and  as  end  —  Heredity  —  Individual  differences  12-3J 

CHAPTER   III 

The  Teaching  Process 

Teaching  a  process  of  controlling  adjustments  —  Types  of  adjustment 

—  The  common  element  in  these  situations,  satisfaction  —  Types 
of  attention  corresponding  to  types  of  adjustment  —  Passive, 
active,  and  secondary  passive  attention  —  Illustrations  of  the 
types  of  attention  —  The  problem  of  securing  continued  attention 

—  The  importance  of  the  problem  in  teaching    .         .         .  32-40 

ix 


X  Table  of  Contents 

CHAPTER  IV 
The  Drill  Lesson 

PAGES 

The  necessity  for  drill  —  The  question  of  motive  —  Clear  ideas  of  the 
habit  to  be  formed  essential  —  Repetition  with  attention  essential 
in  drill  work  —  Attention  held  by  initial  motive,  by  varying 
the  procedure,  by  placing  time  limits,  and  by  appealing  to  emula- 
tion—  Necessity  for  accuracy  in  practice  —  The  periods  elapsing 
between  repetitions  or  series  of  repetitions  should  be  gradually 
lengthened  —  Danger  of  the  cramming  method  —  In  a  series  of 
responses  to  be  made  automatic  each  member  of  the  series  must 
be  included  —  Drill  especially  on  work  that  presents  peculiar 
difficulty 41-50 

CHAPTER  V 

The  Inductive  Lesson 

The  importance  of  thinking  —  Preparation  should  end  with  statement 
oi  tne  problem  by  children  —  The  gathering  of  data  the  work  of 
pupils  in  so  far  as  is  possible  —  Suggestions  for  conducting  ex- 
cursions —  The  hypothesis  in  relation  to  comparison  and  abstrac- 
tion—  Not  everything  can  be  developed  —  Respect  for  the  expert 
to  be  developed  —  Danger  of  helping  children  too  much  —  The 
steps  of  the  process  cannot  be  sharply  differentiated  —  Teaching 
by  types 51-^9 

CHAPTER  VI 

The  Deductive  Lesson 

The  complete  process  of  thought  involves  both  induction  and  deduc- 
tion—The frequency  of  deductive  thinking  —  The  teacher  in 
relation  to  the  thinking  of  children  —  Reflection  —  The  problem 
as  essential  in  deductive  as  in  inductive  thinking—  The  search 
for  the  principle  or  law  which  explains— The  meaning  of  infer- 
ence—  The  importance  of  verification  ....  lo-']'] 

CHAPTER  VII 

The  Lesson  for  Appreciation 

Education  should  enable  one  to  enjoy  life  —  Power  of  appreciation 
should  be  developed  in  our  schools  —  Necessity  for  power  of 


Table  of  Contents  xi 

PAGES 

appreciation  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  —  The  relation  of  com- 
mand of  technique  involved  in  creation  to  power  of  appreciation 

—  The  necessity  for  a  right  emotional  attitude  on  part  of  children 
at  the  beginning  of  such  an  exercise  —  Expression  of  feeling 
should  not  be  forced  —  The  teacher  as  interpreter  —  Creative 
work  by  cliildren  —  Appreciation  in  fields  other  than  those  in- 
volving the  aesthetic  emotions 78-85 

CHAPTER   VIII 

The  Study  Lesson 

The  importance  of  independent  work  —  Children  must  become  con- 
scious of  the  methods  which  can  be  most  efficiently  employed 

—  Statement  of  problem  essential  for  study  —  Assignments  — 
Children  must  be  taught  how  to  collect  data  —  Taking  notes  — 
Critical  attitude  developed  —  Reflection  —  The  importance  of 
the  habit  of  verification  —  Teaching  children  to  memorize  by 
wholes  —  Importance  of  thought  in  memory  work  —  Children 

can  be  taught  how  to  form  habits 86-100 

CHAPTER   IX 
Review  or  Examination  Lesson 

An  examination  involves  a  review  —  A  review  a  summary  and  a  new 
view  —  Value  of  reviews  —  An  abstract  or  topical  outline  a  good 
review — A  review  by  application  —  The  only  real  test  of  the 
teacher's  work  found  in  children's  everyday  action  —  Examina- 
tions as  a  test  of  the  success  of  teaching  —  The  needs  for  scales 
of  measurement 101-106 

CHAPTER   X 

The  Recitation  Lesson 

The  weakness  of  this  type  of  exercise  as  commonly  conducted  —  The 
topical  recitation  —  The  value  of  outlines  prepared  by  pupils  — 
Pupils  should  learn  how  to  use  books  —  The  danger  of  being 
satisfied  with  words  —  Provision  for  supplementing  the  text  — 
Danger  of  accepting  vague  or  incoherent  answers  —  The  danger 
in  developing  an  ultra-individualistic  attitude  —  The  recitation 


xii  Table  of  Contents 

PAGES 

lesson  not  comparable  in  importance  to  other  types  of  exercises 
discussed 107-113 


CHAPTER  XI 
Questioning 

The  importance  of  good  questions  —  Types  of  questions  —  A  lack  oi 
scope  a  common  fault  in  questions  —  Careful  planning  necessary 

—  The  novelty  of  the  form  in  which  the  question  is  put  important 

—  The  method  of  shock  —  The  technique  of  questioning  —  The 
mistake  of  asking  questions  in  a  definite  order,  of  repeating  ques- 
tions, of  repeating  answers  —  Questioning  by  pupils  —  Impor- 
tance of  writing  pivotal  questions  to  be  used  in  the  recitation  114-128 

CHAPTER  XII 
Social  Phases  of  the  Recitation 

Social  aim  of  education  realized  in  the  classroom  —  Motives  com- 
monly operating  in  schools  — Children  naturally  work  together  — 
Changes  in  school  work  demanded  by  the  aim  of  education 

—  Illustrations  of  cooperation  in  schools  —  Opportunity  in  man- 
ual work  for  group  work  —  Plan  for  individual  contribution  in  all 
subjects  —  All  kinds  of  school  exercises  may  lend  themselves  to 
the  development  of  the  social  spirit  —  Need  for  more  purposeful 
work  for  children  —  The  social  motive  important  in  stimulating 
intellectual  activity 129-138 

CHAPTER  XIII 
The  Physical  Welfare  of  Children 

The  importance  of  physical  efficiency  — The  teacher  should  know 
something  of  the  standards  of  lighting,  heating,  and  ventilating  — 
Right  habits  of  posture  under  the  control  of  teachers  —  The 
schoolroom  and  infectious  diseases  —  The  teacher's  responsibility 
for  discovering  defects  of  sight,  hearing,  and  the  like  — The 
teacher  and  the  movement  for  better  health  conditions  in  the 
community— The  teacher's  right  to  health         .         .         .      1 39-^4 


Table  of  Contents  xiu 


CHAPTER  XIV 
Moral  Training 

PAGES 

Intellectual  and  moral  training  cannot  be  separated  —  School  condi- 
tions offer  advantages  for  moral  training  —  Increased  responsi- 
bility of  schools  for  moral  training — Individual  differences,  due 
to  heredity,  environment,  and  age  important  in  moral  training  — 
Physical  condition  and  moraHty  —  Direct  and  indirect  method 
of  moral  instruction — Morality  and  taste — Importance  of  call- 
ing for  an  exercise  of  the  moral  judgment  —  The  reform  of  the 
wrongdoer  —  The  influence  of  the  teacher  .         ,         .      145-156 

CHAPTER  XV 
Class  Management 

Class  management  as  a  means  and  as  an  end  —  Conditions  under 
which  management  should  result  in  habit — Situations  which 
demand  self-control  —  Pupil  participation  in  school  government 

—  The  daily  program  —  Group  instruction  —  Children  should  be 
individualized  —  Individual  instruction  will  not  make  children 
equal  in  ability  nor  in  accomplishment  —  Management  in  relation 
to  teaching 157-166 

CHAPTER  XVI  ] 

Lesson  Plans  j 

Necessity  for  planning  work  —  Teacher's  lack  of  interest  in  work  often 
repeated  —  Change  in  subject  matter — Preparation,  not  inspira- 
tion, counts  in  teaching  —  Importance  of  good  questions,  illus- 
trations and  illustrative  material,  reference  material,  plans  for 
constructive  work  —  The  elements  in  a  good  plan  —  Organization  ] 

—  Pivotal  questions  —  Provision  for  summaries  —  Assignment  167-223  j 

CHAPTER  XVII  I 

The  Teacher  in  Relation  to  Supervision 

The  purpose  of  supervision  —  Criticism,  its  various  types  —  When 
to  discuss  work  with   supervisors  —  School  exhibits  —  Visiting 


xiv  Table  of  Contents 

PAGES 

within  and  outside  of  the  system  in  which  one  works  —  Exami- 
nations and  supervision  —  The  function  of  teachers'  meetings  — 
Institutes,  the  better  type  —  Supervision  and  growth  .         .      224-231 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  Teacher  in  Relation  to  the  Course  of  Study 

The  course  of  study  as  a  taskmaster  —  The  real  purpose  of  the  course 
of  study  —  Provisions  for  minimum,  alternative,  and  optional 
work  —  How  the  course  of  study  may  help  the  teacher  —  The 
teacher's  contribution  to  the  making  of  the  course  of  study  —  The 
interpretation  of  the  course  of  study  to  children  —  The  doctrine 
of  formal  discipline  —  The  vitalization  of  the  curriculum     .      232-246 

CHAPTER   XIX 

Measuring  Results  in  Education 

Efficiency  demands  that  we  evaluate  our  results  —  Progress  by  the 
method  of  trial  and  success  —  Reasons  why  scientific  work  in 
education  has  progressed  slowly  —  Results  already  achieved  in 
measuring  the  results  of  our  practice  —  Education  means  change, 
and  these  changes  are  measurable  —  Lack  of  adequate  units  of 
measurement  not  an  argument  against  measurement  —  The  steps 
in  scientific  investigation  —  The  teacher  in  relation  to  scientific 
work  in  education  —  The  school  a  laboratory      .         .         .      247-265 


A    BRIEF   COURSE    IN    THE 
TEACHING    PROCESS 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  AIM  OF  EDUCATION 

Education  is  worth  just  the  difference  it  makes  in  the 
activities  of  the  individual  who  has  been  educated.  The  ques- 
tion is  not  how  many  books  did  we  compel  the  child  to  read ; 
how  much  does  he  know  of  arithmetic,  geography,  history, 
music,  art,  and  the  like :  but  rather  what  use  does  he  make  of 
this  knowledge ;  how  is  he  different  from  the  person  who  does 
not  possess  this  information;  and,  still  more  important,  are  these 
differences  in  his  activity  desirable  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  group  in  which  he  lives.  It  is  important,  then,  that  we 
should  consider,  before  we  discuss  the  function  of  teacher  in 
bringing  about  changes  in  children,  the  ends  which  it  is  desir- 
able to  attain. 

The  aim  of  education  has  been  variously  stated.  In  the 
popular  mind  the  aim  of  education  is  usually  interpreted  in 
terms  of  knowledge,  or  the  ability  to  make  a  living.  The 
theorists  have  been  more  apt  to  define  the  purpose  of  educa- 
tion in  terms  of  the  development  of  the  abilities  of  the  individ- 
ual, of  growth,  of  culture,  or  of  morality.  It  might  be  inter- 
esting to  examine  each  of  the  aims  which  has  been  advanced 
in  some  detail.  It  may  be  as  significant  to  note  the  element 
common  to  all. 

It  is  safe  to  assume  that  the  advocates  of  each  statement  of 
aim  believed  that  their  conception  was  broad  enough  to  insure 
success  for  the  individual  educated  in  accordance  with  the 
particular  ideal  embodied  in  their  statement  of  purpose.  No 
aim  would  be  at  all  acceptable  which  did  not  take  account  of 
the  society  in  which  the  individual  must  work.     The  educa- 


2         A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

tion  in  a  tribal  society,  which  consisted  in  learning  how  to 
protect  one's  self  and  to  provide  for  one's  physical  needs, 
the  acquaintance  with  tribal  ceremonies  and  tribal  lore,  quite 
as  truly  as  our  modern  education,  fitted  the  individual  to  get 
on  in  life.  The  individualistic  point  of  view  has  been  con- 
stantly emphasized.  It  has  been  a  case  of  earning  a  living  for 
one's  self,  of  getting  culture  for  the  satisfaction  that  it  might 
bring,  of  acquiring  knowledge  for  the  sake  of  the  advancement 
which  was  thus  made  possible,  of  moral  growth  for  the  sake  of 
individual  salvation.  More  recently  it  has  been  common  to 
state  the  aim  of  education  in  terms  of  social  efficiency.  It  is 
the  purpose  of  this  discussion  of  aim.  to  examine  this  concept 
in  order  to  make  clear  its  significance. 

When  society  reaches  that  stage  of  development  in  which 
progress  is  definitely  sought  and  planned  for,  the  stage  of 
conscious  evolution,  it  is  not  enough  that  the  individual  be 
educated  simply  so  that  he  may  attain  his  own  selfish  ends. 
Each  individual  is  a  part  of  the  organic  whole,  and  in  his  func- 
tioning it  is  the  good  of  the  whole  which  is  of  paramount 
importance.  The  aim  of  education  must,  then,  be  broad 
enough  to  include  both  the  welfare  of  the  individual  and  the 
good  of  society.  Is  there  any  real  opposition  between  these 
ends  ?  If  we  think  most  of  all  of  the  welfare  of  the  whole  or- 
ganism, must  we  sacrifice  the  interests  of  the  constituent  parts  ? 

No  one  can  do  the  most  for  the  group  of  which  he  is  a  mem- 
ber who  has  not  realized  in  his  education  the  development  of 
those  abilities  with  which  he  is  peculiarly  endowed.  The 
nurture  of  those  abilities  upon  which  society  places  a  premium, 
and  the  inhibition  of  non-social  tendencies,  means  greater 
opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  whatever  strength  the  indi- 
vidual possesses,  greater  individual  growth  and  development, 
than  would  otherwise  be  possible.  It  is  only  through  partici- 
pation in  social  life  that  the  highest  individual  development 
is  possible,  and  it  is  true  that  "he  who  loseth  his  fife"  for  the 
good  of  the  group  "shall  find  it."    There  is,  then, no  opposition 


The  Aim  of  Education  3 

between  that  view  of  education  which  declares  that  the  wel- 
fare of  society  is  of  paramount  importance,  and  that  which 
demands  individual  well  being.  If  we  are  successful  in  obtain- 
ing the  former,  we  must  have  secured  the  latter. 

If  the  analysis  of  the  relation  of  the  individual  to  society 
is  correct,  we  are  justified  in  claiming  that  any  adequate  state- 
ment of  the  aim  of  education  must  point  unmistakably  to  the 
idea  of  the  common  good.  Education  aims  so  to  adjust  the 
individual  to  the  group  that  the  welfare  of  society  as  a  whole 
may  be  advanced.  This  adjustment  can  be  brought  about 
only  through  participation  in  social  activities,  and  thus  the  aim 
is  constantly  reahzed  in  the  process. 

In  our  democratic  society,  which  makes  possible  free  educa- 
tion for  all  of  its  members,  there  can  be  no  question  of  the 
right  of  society  to  demand  that  education  aim  to  develop  men 
and  women  who  work  for  the  common  good.  It  is  necessary, 
then,  to  analyze  this  aim  of  social  efficiency  in  terms  of  our 
society.  The  equality  of  opportunity  which  we  profess  to 
offer  is  to  be  thought  of  in  terms  of  possible  service  which  may 
be  rendered. 

In  any  community  the  contribution  to  the  general  welfare 
which  may  be  made  by  any  one  of  its  members  is  conditioned 
by  the  interests  which  the  individual  has  in  the  general  good. 
The  unsocial  individual,  the  one  who  seldom  responds  to  the 
needs  of  the  group,  is  out  of  sympathy  with  social  problems, 
and  contributes  little  to  social  welfare. 

But  it  is  not  enough  that  the  individual  be  interested  in  the 
common  welfare.  Interest  may  lead  him  to  do  that  which  is 
harmful  rather  than  helpful,  or  it  may  be  that  his  interest  may 
have  no  result  except  to  give  him  certain  pleasurable  emotions. 
There  must  be  added  to  sympathy,  knowledge.  Interest  or 
sympathy  in  the  welfare  of  society  may  furnish  the  propelling 
force,  but  knowledge  is  necessary  for  effective  action.  The 
world  is  full  of  men  and  women  with  the  best  intentions  who 
hinder  rather  than  advance  the  common  good. 


4         A    Brief  Cotirse  in  the   Teaching  Process 

Since  each  is  responsible  not  only  for  his  own  conduct,  but 
also  for  the  welfare  of  the  whole  group,  it  is  necessary  that  our 
education  provide  opportunity  for  growth  in  inteUigence. 
Our  schools  have  always  emphasized  this  element  in  educa- 
tion. We  have  often  defined  the  aim  of  education  in  terms 
of  the  development  of  citizenship.  Usually  the  chief  quali- 
fication of  the  citizen  has  been  interpreted  to  be  that  knowl- 
edge which  would  enable  him  to  exercise  the  right  of  suffrage 
with  intelligence.  We  do  well,  however,  to  remember  that 
intelhgence  must  be  exercised  in  all  of  the  activities  of  Kfe.  Our 
education  must  strive  constantly  to  develop  men  and  women 
who  will  be  rational  at  all  times.  But  we  may  not  forget  that 
our  schools  have  been  so  much  concerned  with  the  intellectual, 
side  of  education  that  they  have  tended  to  neglect  other  ele- 
ments which  are  equally  significant  from  the  standpoint  of 
social  welfare. 

There  is  still  another  element  which  must  be  added,  the  habit 
of  acting  on  behalf  of  the  group.  We  all  know  people  who 
know  just  what  is  demanded  in  a  given  social  situation ;  they 
profess  to  be  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  group ;  but  they 
never  act.  When  their  own  private  interests  are  involved 
they  are  quick  to  seize  the  opportunity  for  improving  their 
condition ;  but  in  social  matters  they  are  inactive.  It  is  in  this 
particular,  rather  than  in  any  other,  that  our  schools  fall  short. 
We  do  much  to  arouse  the  sympathy  of  children  in  the  general 
welfare ;  we  give  them  the  knowledge  by  which  their  action  may 
be  guided ;  but  we  give  them  little  opportunity  to  form  the 
habit  of  social  service.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  we  so  often 
think  of  adult  social  activities  as  the  only  ones  that  are  worth 
while,  forgetting  that  for  the  child  the  important  thing  is 
social  activity  now  and  in  his  society,  that  the  only  way  to 
prepare  for  adult  social  effectiveness  is  to  secure  social  effi- 
ciency on  the  part  of  the  child. 

These  questions  still  remain :  how  can  we,  through  educa- 
tion, produce  the  individual  who,  because  of  social  sympathy, 


The  Aim  of  Education  5 

knowledge,  and  activity,  will  tend  to  advance  the  welfare  of  all ; 
and  what  kinds  of  education  meet  the  demands  of  the  aim 
which  we  have  set  up. 

First  of  all,  we  must  endeavor  to  produce  the  individual  who 
is  sound  physically.  Modern  education  recognizes  the  fact 
that  a  man's  usefulness  is  conditioned  by  his  bodily  condition, 
and  is  also  coming  to  find  that  physical  activity  is  not  without 
its  effect  on  the  mental  development  and  Hfe  of  the  individual. 
There  is,  therefore,  one  large  division  of  our  work  which  we 
may  call  physical  education. 

On  the  side  of  mental  development,  education  consists  in 
preserving  and  stimulating  the  child's  interest  in  the  materials 
and  processes  with  which  he  may  come  in  contact.  Intellec- 
tual training  aims  to  develop  the  man  or  woman  who  is  mentally 
alert,  active  in  investigation,  and  controlled  by  reason.  It  is 
to  this  intellectual  education  that  our  schools  have  devoted  the 
larger  part  of  their  time.  The  school  is  the  agency  set  aside 
by  society  for  transmitting  culture,  and  the  teacher  must 
always  concern  herself  largely  with  the  intellectual  life  of 
children. 

Our  modern  view  of  education  is  leading  us  to  stress,  along 
with  physical  and  intellectual  education,  a  kind  of  training 
which  aims  to  develop  the  individual  whose  moral  standards 
are  positive  rather  than  negative.  Moral-social  education 
should  establish  ideals  of  social  service  as  well  as  standards  of 
individual  righteousness. 

Along  with  physical,  moral-social,  and  intellectual-cultural 
education,  there  is  need  for  that  type  of  training  which  will 
enable  each  individual  to  do  some  particular  work  with  a  high 
degree  of  efficiency.  This  type  of  education  we  commonly 
call  vocational.  It  is  only  recently  that  we  have  come  to 
realize  that  it  is  not  enough  to  train  an  individual  with  respect 
to  general  intelligence  and  morahty,  but  that  it  is  also  just  as 
fundamental  that  our  education  provide  the  training  necessary 
for  success  in  the  particular  calling  which  each  individual  is 


6         A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

to  enter.  For  the  preparation  of  clergymen,  doctors,  lawyers, 
teachers,  and  engineers,  whose  vocations  require  a  maximum 
of  intellectual  achievement,  it  is  true  that  we  have  long  had  our 
vocational  schools.  We  are  coming  now  to  appreciate  the 
fact  that  equaUty  of  opportunity  demands  that  special  train- 
ing be  given  to  those  who  are  to  enter  the  industries.  Indeed, 
our  vocational  schools  must  multiply  until  there  is  training 
offered  for  each  and  every  calHng  before  we  can  claim  to  pro- 
vide that  training  which  is  essential  for  social  efficiency. 

Another  problem  is  that  of  the  training  for  leisure.  In 
society  as  at  present  constituted,  it  is  possible  for  many  in- 
dividuals, and  it  should  ultimately  be  possible  for  all,  to  have 
a  considerable  amount  of  leisure  time.  The  contribution  of 
each  individual  in  his  special  line  of  work,  and  his  general 
interest  in  the  whole  community,  will  depend  in  a  considerable 
degree  upon  the  proper  use  of  leisure  time.  Our  education 
must,  therefore,  attempt  to  equip  men  with  interests  and  ideals 
which  make  for  the  nobler  enjoyments. 

Keeping  in  mind  the  sympathetic,  wise,  active  social  indi- 
vidual, made  so  by  the  process  of  acquiring  experience  or 
making  of  adjustments,  both  physical  and  mental,  wx  have  yet 
to  reduce  our  aim  to  the  terms  of  schoolroom  practice.  What 
can  a  teacher  hope  to  do  in  this  hour,  with  this  group  of  children 
to  work  with  ? 

First  of  all  the  teacher  can  work  for  the  formation  of 
habits  which  are  socially  desirable  and  for  the  inhibition  of 
those  which  are  undesirable.  "Education  is  for  behavior, 
and  habits  are  the  stuff  of  which  behavior  consists."  ^  The 
school  may  be  a  very  important  factor  in  the  formation  of 
habits  in  each  of  the  fields  of  education  mentioned  above. 
If  the  school  is  organized  on  a  rational  social  basis,  it  must 
continually  present  opportunities  for  actions  which  should 
become  habitual,  and  the  future  efficiency  of  the  learner 
depends  upon  gaining  such  control  of  much  of  the  knowledge 
^  James,  Talks  to  Teachers,  p.  66. 


The  Aim  of  Education  7 

which  we  teach  that  the  response  desired  becomes  habitual. 
The  social  virtues  of  promptness,  regularity,  helpfulness, 
industry,  fidelity,  honesty,  truthfulness,  cleanliness,  both 
physical  and  mental,  patriotism,  and  the  like,  should  be  made 
habitual  in  connection  with  the  situations  which  demand  their 
exercise.  The  physical  habits  acquired  in  childhood  are  of 
the  utmost  significance  throughout  life.  Much  of  arithmetic, 
spelling,  writing,  geography,  history,  and  even  of  literature  and 
art,  will  be  significant  in  proportion  as  we  have  reduced  our 
knowledge  to  the  automatic  basis  of  habit.  One  cannot  stop 
to  reason  everything  out ;  life  is  too  short.  We  gain  time  and 
energy  for  the  higher  activities  of  life  in  proportion  as  we 
reduce  the  responses  which  occur  frequently  to  the  basis  of 
habits.  In  vocational  schools  one  of  the  chief  aims  is  the  for- 
mation of  habits  of  skill.  Later  we  shall  want  to  discuss  in 
detail  the  methodology  of  habit  formation. 

Every  teacher  recognizes  that  one  of  the  ends  which  must 
be  achieved  by  the  school  is  knowledge.  We  shall  not  here 
enter  into  the  discussion  of  the  problem  of  what  knowledge  is 
of  most  worth,  since  for  the  teacher  this  choice  is  usually 
made  and  prescribed  in  the  course  of  study.  One  cannot, 
however,  refrain  from  suggesting  that  much  that  is  taught 
would  be  eliminated,  if  we  kept  constantly  in  mind  the  end 
for  which  we  strive.  The  following  criteria,  proposed  by  Pro- 
fessor Frank  M.  McMurry,  will  be  suggestive  from  the  stand- 
point of  teaching,  whether  the  teacher  determines  the  curricu- 
lum or  not. 

*'We  hold  to  the  following  propositions  in  the  rejection  of 
subject  matter.^ 

"  I.  Whatever  cannot  be  shown  to  have  a  plain  relation  to 
some  real  need  of  life,  whether  aesthetic,  ethical,  or  utilitarian 
in  the  narrower  sense,  must  be  dropped. 

"2.  Whatever  is  not  reasonably  within  the  child's  compre- 
hension. 

1  F.  M.  McMurry,  "Advisable  Omissions  from  the  Elementary  Curriculum," 
Bd.  Rev.,  May,  1904. 


8         A  Brief  Course  i7i  the   Teaching  Process 

''3.  Whatever  is  unlikely  to  appeal  to  his  interest ;  unless  it 
is  positively  demanded  for  the  first  very  weighty  reason. 

''4.  Whatever  topics  and  details  are  so  isolated  or  irrelevant 
that  they  fail  to  be  a  part  of  any  series  or  chain  of  ideas,  and 
therefore  fail  to  be  necessary  for  the  appreciation  of  any  large 
point.  This  standard,  however,  not  to  apply  to  the  three  R's 
and  spelling." 

These  criteria  indicate  clearly  that  knowledge  can  never  be 
in  itself  an  end  of  teaching.  It  is  not  that  the  child  may  have 
knowledge  merely,  but  that  he  shall  have  knowledge  which 
will  function.  This  knowledge  which  we  seek  to  have  the 
child  master  will  concern  his  physical  hfe,  his  social  relation- 
ships, his  vocation ;  and  in  each  field  the  knowledge  he  possesses 
will  limit  his  intellectual  activity. 

The  school  must  keep  alive,  or,  in  some  cases,  awaken  those 
interests  which  are  socially  desirable.  It  is  not  enough  that 
habits  have  been  formed  and  knowledge  acquired.  Much  of 
the  usefulness  of  the  individual  after  he  leaves  school  will  de- 
pend on  his  interests  which  lead  him  to  acquire  new  knowledge, 
or  to  attempt  some  new  activity.  It  has  sometimes  been 
asserted  that  the  school,  as  at  present  organized,  tends  to  kill 
rather  than  to  preserve  those  interests  which  are  common  to 
little  children.  It  is  probable  that  the  passing  interests  in 
things  due  to  curiosity  must  disappear,  regardless  of  the  edu- 
cation which  we  give ;  but  it  is  a  poor  sort  of  education  which 
leaves  the  child  without  abiding  interests  which  will  help  him 
not  only  in  making  a  living,  but  also  in  enjoying  his  life. 
Here,  as  elsewhere  in  education,  we  may  be  satisfied  with  the 
result  only  when  we  get  the  corresponding  action.  That  child 
has  an  interest  in  good  literature  who  reads  good  Hterature. 
We  can  be  sure  that  the  boy  is  interested  in  natural  phenomena 
when  he  is  willing  to  spend  his  leisure  time  finding  out  more 
about  nature's  ways.  The  only  test  that  we  have  of  an  abid- 
ing interest  in  the  welfare  of  others  is  the  fact  that  the  child 
is  now  active  on  behalf  of  others.     In  like  manner  are  we  to 


The  AiTn  of  Education  9 

judge  of  our  success  in  arousing  and  maintaining  those  other 
interests  which  are  desirable. 

Judgments  of  fact  are  called  for  constantly  in  acquiring 
knowledge  and  in  our  everyday  activity;  but  no  less  impor- 
tant in  the  life  of  individuals  are  judgments  of  worth.  Edu- 
cation must  concern  itself  with  the  ideals,  purposes,  and  stan- 
dards which  should  be  acquired  by  children.  There  is  no  field 
in  which  greater  skill  is  demanded  in  teaching  than  in  bringing 
children  to  appreciate  those  things  which  are  good,  true,  and 
beautiful.  Ideals,  or,  for  those  who  do  not  agree  with  them, 
prejudices,  will  always  be  of  tremendous  importance.  They 
determine  the  course  of  action  a  man  will  take.  Because  of 
their  ideals  men  have  been  willing  to  labor  incessantly  for  a 
cause  which  they  considered  just,  to  give  up  personal  good  in 
the  pursuance  of  pubHc  duty,  to  lose  all,  if  they  might  but 
retain  their  honor,  yes,  even  to  lose  their  lives  because  they 
felt  that  this  extreme  service  was  demanded  of  them.  The 
awakening  and  nurturing  of  ideals  of  work  (or  industry),  of 
honor,  of  duty,  of  purity,  of  service  is  the  greatest  contribution 
of  the  best  teacher. 

There  is  one  other  aim  which  the  teacher  should  have  con- 
stantly in  mind,  included  possibly  in  the  above,  but  which 
needs  to  be  stated  separately  for  the  sake  of  emphasis,  i.e. 
that  children  should  be  taught  how  to  work  independently. 
The  best  teacher  is  the  one  who  is  constantly  striving  to  render 
her  services  unnecessary.  There  is  nothing  that  the  school 
can  do  which  will  take  the  place  of  giving  the  child  knowledge 
of  the  most  economical  means  to  be  employed  in  achieving 
desirable  ends.  Is  it  a  matter  of  knowledge,  the  child  should 
be  made  conscious  of  the  methods  whereby  truth  may  be  es- 
tablished; is  it  the  need  of  establishing  a  new  habit,  or  the 
breaking  up  of  the  old  one,  we  should  make  available  for  the 
pupil  the  principles  of  habit  formation  so  that  he  may  apply 
them  to  his  own  case  ;  in  matters  of  right  and  wrong,  the  school 
should  have  suppHed  standards  of  reference  which  will  help 


lo       A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

in  the  difficult  situation.  Possibly  the  great  weakness  of  many 
teachers  in  imparting  this  knowledge  of  methods  of  work  is 
best  illustrated  by  citing  the  well-known  fact  that  children  of 
high  school,  or  even  college  age,  are  found  very  frequently 
who  do  not  know  how  to  read  a  book,  or  study  a  lesson  assigned. 
This  problem  will  be  treated  in  considerable  detail  when  we 
come  to  consider  the  study  lesson. 

Pupils  at  work  forming  habits  of  thought,  feeling,  and  ac- 
tion ;  acquiring  knowledge  of  nature  and  of  society ;  forming 
ideals  which  make  for  social  well  being ;  and  learning  in  all  of 
this  work  to  act  independently,  to  function  in  the  society  of 
which  they  are  a  part :  this  is  education,  and  these  are  the 
goals  which  we  should  strive  to  achieve  every  day  and  every 
hour  that  we  teach. 

For  Collateral  Reading 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  The  Meaning  of  Education,  Chapter  I. 
W.  C.  Bagley,  The  Educative  Process,  Chapter  III. 

Exercises. 

1.  How  would  you  hope  to  contribute  to  the  realization  of  the  aim 
of  education  in  the  teaching  of  EngUsh,  arithmetic,  cooking,  geography, 
or  other  school  subjects  ? 

2.  How  would  you  determine  whether  or  not  the  children  in  your 
grade  are  socially  efficient? 

3.  What  are  the  most  important  subjects,  or  parts  of  subjects,  which 
you  teach  ?     Why  ? 

4.  How  would  an  application  of  the  aim  of  education  as  discussed 
in  this  chapter  modify  the  work  commonly  done  in  arithmetic?  In 
nature  study  ? 

5.  It  has  been  claimed  that  education  should  provide  for  the  har- 
monious development  of  all  of  the  powers.  Criticize  this  statement  of 
aim. 

6.  Could  you  defend  the  statement  that  "the  aim  of  education  is  to 
produce  socially  efficient  men  and  women,"  and  at  the  same  time  deny 
that  the  greatest  individual  good  comes  from  working  for  the  general 
welfare  ? 

7.  Why  should  education  be  free  in  a  democracy? 


The  Aim  of  Education  ii 

8.  Is  society  justified  in  offering  special  education  to  the  deficient 
and  the  dehnquent  ?     To  the  especially  capable  ?     Why  ? 

9.  Is  the  excessive  rivalry  which  we  sometimes  foster  in  our  schools 
compatible  with  the  aim  of  social  efliciency  ? 

10.  Of  the  several  types  of  education,  physical,  intellectual,  moral- 
social,  vocational,  and  education  for  leisure,  which  is  most  neglected  ? 

11.  How  do  you  account  for  the  fact  that  many  children  cease  to 
inquire,  to  investigate,  or  even  to  ask  questions,  although  they  are  regu- 
larly taught  in  our  schools  ? 

12.  Why  do  you  teach  school?     What  do  you  hope  to  accomplish? 

13.  Can  you  name  specific  instances  of  changes  brought  about  in 
children  under  your  instruction  which  justify  you  in  believing  that  you 
have  fulfilled  the  aim  of  education  in  your  teaching? 

14.  What  justification  is  there  for  music,  drawing,  or  Hterature  in  the 
curriculum  ? 

15.  State  briefly  the  aim  of  education. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  FACTORS   CONDITIONING  THE   TEACHING  PROCESS 

If  it  is  essential  that  the  teacher  approach  her  work  with  a 
clear  view  of  the  ends  which  it  is  desirable  for  her  to  achieve, 
it  is  quite  as  necessary  that  she  be  conscious  of  the  factors 
which  condition  the  teaching  process.  The  school,  with  its 
limitations  and  its  advantages,  the  community  and  home  life 
of  the  child,  and,  above  all  else,  the  child  himself,  his  instincts, 
impulses,  and  abilities  must  be  the  subject  of  most  careful 
study.  Much  progress  has  been  made  in  recent  years  because 
of  a  better  understanding  and  a  more  sym.pathetic  attitude 
toward  children.  Teachers  are  beginning  to  see  that  education 
has  its  beginning  in,  and  that  it  is  always  conditioned  by,  the 
life  of  the  child  outside  of  the  school  building.  The  possibil- 
ities of  the  school  as  an  institution  for  the  education  of  children 
are  just  beginning  to  be  realized. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  school  shares  with  the  home,  the 
church,  and  the  community  at  large  the  education  of  children, 
no  one  can  fail  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the  responsibiHties 
and  the  activities  of  the  school  have  been  very  greatly  aug- 
mented during  the  past  few  decades.  Where  other  institutions 
have  lost  or  have  become  less  effective,  the  school  has  gained, 
or  has  been  forced  to  accept  new  responsibilities.  Changed 
industrial  conditions  and  life  in  cities  have  made  it  impossible 
for  the  home  to  continue  to  hold  the  important  place  which  it 
once  occupied  in  preparing  its  members  for  efficient  participa- 
tion in  the  productive  activities.  Whether  we  like  it  or  not, 
we  are  forced  to  admit  that  the  church  no  longer  exerts  the 
power  over  the  Hves  and  conduct  of  men  that  it  once  did. 


The  Factors  Coitditioning  the  Teaching  Process    13 

Along  with  the  specialization  of  function  which  is  so  charac- 
teristic of  our  modern  Hfe,  citizenship  in  our  democracy  has 
come  to  require  less  of  that  type  of  participation  in  public 
affairs  which  was  once  a  great  educative  factor  in  our  com- 
munity life. 

As  these  changes  in  the  effectiveness  of  other  institutions 
have  taken  place,  men  have  looked  to  the  schools  to  make 
good  the  deficiency.  The  schools  have  responded  to  the  de- 
mand made  upon  them.  Our  curriculum  no  longer  consists  of 
the  three  R's.  Cooking,  sewing,  gardening,  and  many  other 
kinds  of  manual  work,  music,  physical  training,  and  fine  art 
are  already  found  in  our  courses  of  study.  We  are  coming  to 
recognize  the  need  for  more  systematic  training  in  morals  and 
civics,  and  vocational  training  is  being  introduced. 

What  is  the  significance  of  these  changes  for  teachers? 
Is  it  not  true  that  they  must  teach  whatever  is  demanded  by 
the  course  of  study ;  and  is  not  this  the  only  difference  in  the 
teacher's  function  iDrought  about  by  changed  conditions  ?  The 
answer  is,  most  emphatically,  no.  The  situation  which  has 
already  made  necessary  the  change  in  curriculum  demands  also 
changes  in  method  quite  as  revolutionary.  It  is  more  essen- 
tial to-day  than  ever  before  that  the  school  present  oppor- 
tunities for  cooperation  and  for  group  work,  a  chance  for  pupils 
to  work  together  for  common  ends,  because  there  is  so  much 
less  demand  of  this  sort  made  upon  children  outside  of  school 
than  was  formerly  the  case.  We  ought  to  do  more  than  we  do 
to  develop  the  independence  and  the  self-reliance  which  were  so 
characteristic  of  the  boy  and  girl  who  lived  in  an  environment 
which  constantly  made  heavy  demands  upon  their  strength, 
skill,  and  ingenuity.  The  responsibility  for  taking  the  initia- 
tive, and  of  measuring  the  success  of  one's  efforts  by  the  results 
produced,  is  all  too  uncommon  in  the  lives  of  our  children. 
The  school  must,  if  it  is  to  adequately  meet  its  enlarged  respon- 
sibility, develop  those  habits  of  thought  and  action  which 
enable  one  to  get  along  with  his  fellows.     The  school  life  of  the 


14       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

cliild  must,  in  so  far  as  this  is  possible,  present  such  oppor- 
tunities, make  such  demands,  and  judge  results  by  standards 
essentially  social.  The  child  must  learn  in  school  to  serve,  to 
accept  responsibility,  and  to  produce  results  socially  valuable. 
We  could  do  much  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  school  if  we 
planned  more  carefully  to  have  schoolroom  activities  find  their 
apphcation  in  the  homes  of  children. 

School  education  begins  not  with  the  ignorance  of  children, 
but  with  their  knowledge.  Children  come  to  us  with  a  great 
wealth  of  experience.  Our  work  as  teachers  is  to  enlarge  and 
to  interpret  this  experience,  to  give  it  greater  meaning  and 
significance.  Can  any  one  question,  then,  the  necessity  for 
acquaintance  with  the  life  of  the  child  outside  of  school? 
And  this  study  of  the  out-of-school  environment  must  continue 
as  long  as  the  child  is  in  school,  if  the  teacher's  work  is  to  be 
most  effective.  It  makes  a  great  deal  of  difference  when  you 
wish  to  teach  nature  study  that  your  children  have  always 
lived  in  the  city,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  a  park.  The 
problem  of  teaching  a  great  commercial  center  to  children  liv- 
ing on  farms  presents  some  difficulty.  But  it  is  not  alone 
these  more  gross  differences  in  the  lives  of  children  which  de- 
mand our  attention.  There  are  differences  in  ideals,  differ- 
ences in  social  custom,  in  short,  in  ways  of  thinking,  feeling, 
and  acting,  which  one  must  know  if  one  would  claim  any  ade- 
quate knowledge  of  the  child  to  be  taught.  Probably  the  best 
opportunity  to  gain  this  intimate  knowledge  of  the  lives  of 
children  whom  we  teach  is  to  be  had  in  the  work  with  parents 
and  older  brothers  and  sisters  which  should  be  carried  on  in  the 
school  building  when  the  smaller  children  are  not  present.  The 
school  which  is  a  center  of  community  life,  a  place  for  study,  for 
recreation,  for  physical  development,  and  for  social  inter- 
course is  the  school  that  is  fulffiling  its  mission  in  the  life  of  the 
people ;  and  the  teacher  who  works  in  such  a  school  will  know 
her  children. 

There  is  one  other  responsibility  which  we  as  teachers  must 


The  Factors  Conditioning  the   Teaching  Process     15 

acknowledge  which  again  leads  us  beyond  the  schoolroom.  We 
should  work  for  the  welfare  of  our  children  during  the  time  that 
they  are  not  with  us.  No  other  body  of  men  and  women  knows 
the  needs  of  these  children  better  than  we  do.  Our  work  is 
conditioned  by  the  life  of  the  child  before  he  comes  under  our 
influence.  Our  work  is  ofttime  of  no  effect  because  of  the  ad- 
verse conditions  outside  of  the  school.  What  does  it  matter 
that  we  try  to  develop  morality  in  children,  when  the  forces  of 
immorality  in  the  streets  more  than  counteract  cur  influence  ? 
what  does  it  matter  that  we  strive  earnestly  to  provide  hygienic 
conditions  for  work  during  five  hours  of  the  day,  when  filth 
and  disease  are  doing  their  deadly  work  outside  of  the  school  for 
nineteen  hours  a  day  ?  Who  knows  better  than  we  that  chil- 
dren with  starved  bodies  cannot  do  great  things  intellectually  ? 
If  we  were  only  organized  to  improve  these  conditions,  we  could 
do  much  for  the  welfare  of  the  community.  The  time  is 
coming  when  it  will  be  considered  as  legitimate  for  a  body  of 
teachers  to  discuss  the  problems  of  impure  food  supply,  of  re- 
lief for  the  poor,  of  means  for  the  suppression  of  vice,  and  of 
better  hygienic  conditions  for  the  children  of  our  cities,  as  it  is 
to  discuss  the  problems  of  method  or  the  organization  of  school 
work.  What  we  need,  if  we  are  to  be  effective  in  the  work,  is 
better  organization,  more  craft  consciousness.  We  now  pos- 
sess potentially  great  power  for  social  betterment.  We  are 
exercising  this  power  in  the  school,  and,  as  individuals,  outside 
of  the  school.  We  will,  let  us  hope,  in  time,  recognize  the 
larger  social  demand  and  perform  the  larger  social  service. 

The  children  with  whom  we  work  come  to  us  equipped  with 
many  native  reactions  or  tendencies  to  behave.  In  any  situa- 
tion the  child  will  react  in  accordance  with  some  native  ten- 
dency or  habit  which  has  grown  out  of  the  original  tendency. 
Success  in  teaching  depends  upon  a  recognition  of  these  in- 
stinctive tendencies,  the  development  of  some,  the  grafting 
of  new  but  similar  reactions  on  others,  and  the  inhibition  of 
the  native  reaction  and  substitution  of  another  in  still  other 


1 6       A  Brief  Course  hi  the  Teaching  Process 

cases.  The  instincts  which  are  of  importance  in  education 
have  been  variously  named;  among  these  those  of  greatest 
significance  for  the  work  of  the  teacher  are  play,  constructive- 
ness,  imitation,  emulation,  pugnacity,  curiosity,  ownership, 
including  the  collecting  instinct,  svTnpathy,  wonder.  We 
shall  deal  briefly  with  each  of  these  in  relation  to  the  work  of 
the  teacher. 

Flay:  Possibly  the  lesson  which  teachers  need  most  to 
learn  is  that  play  has  real  educative  value.  Before  the  school 
age  has  been  reached,  the  child  has  learned  chiefly  by  playing. 
In  play  the  child  gets  his  first  experience  in  those  activities 
which  are  later  to  make  possible  a  happy,  useful  life  in  the  com- 
munity. The  number  of  possible  reactions  possessed  by  a 
child  of  six  is  largely  determined  by  the  opportunity  he  has 
had  to  play.  This  is  why  we  value  so  much  a  life  free  from 
restraint,  and  in  contact  with  nature,  for  little  children.  Con- 
tact with  the  trees,  the  rocks,  the  birds,  the  flowers,  and  asso- 
ciation with  other  children  mean  possibihties  of  learning  for  the 
child  which  no  amount  of  instruction  or  exercise  of  authority 
can  equal.  The  child  plays  now  with  this  object  and  again 
with  that ;  and  in  consequence  comes  to  know  not  only  the 
objects,  but  his  own  power.  In  an  imaginative  way  he  expe- 
riences all  of  the  adult  activities  about  him,  sowing,  reaping, 
building,  cooking,  cleaning,  hauHng,  fighting ;  and  he  is  wiser 
and  better  prepared  for  the  period  of  struggle,  which  must 
come  later,  because  of  these  activities. 

Nor  should  this  period  of  play  end  when  the  child  enters 
school.  The  skillful  teacher  makes  a  game  of  many  of  the 
exercises  of  the  school,  which  might  be  otherwise  drudgery. 
The  desire  to  win  is  common  to  children  six  years  of  age,  and 
many  a  hard  task  will  become  play,  if  the  element  of  compe- 
tition is  introduced  and  sufficient  variety  in  procedure  is 
provided  for.  By  playing,  children  may  learn  to  work.  To 
achieve  the  ends  desired  in  a  game  may  involve  the  overcom- 
ing of  difficulties  which  require  the  most  earnest  effort.     There 


The  Factors   Conditioning  the   Teaching  Process     17 

can  be  no  better  preparation  for  life  than  the  playing  of  games 
where  team  work,  self-restraint,  and  fairness  are  demanded. 

We  need  more  careful  study  on  the  part  of  teachers  of  chil- 
dren's games,  and  more  planning  that  all  may  secure  the  bene- 
fits v/hich  come  from  this  sort  of  activity.  In  the  school- 
room, wherever  it  is  possible,  the  spirit  of  play  should  pervade 
the  work.  There  will  be  cases  enough  where  results  will  de- 
pend upon  the  exercise  of  authority.  Let  us  never  forget  that 
the  reaction  of  play  may  mean  just  as  valuable  results  as 
the  reaction  of  necessity,  and  that  the  ideal  life  is  the  one  in 
which  all  work  is  play. 

Constructiveness:  Closely  connected  with  the  play  instinct 
is  the  instinct  to  make  out  of  the  material  at  one's  command 
that  which  will  represent  some  element  in  the  play.  In  the 
beginning,  gestures,  sounds,  and  whatever  objects  are  present 
suffice  in  the  make-believe  world  of  the  child.  But  soon  the 
materials  are  rearranged  or  shaped  into  some  new  form  in  order 
to  represent  the  object  desired.  Materials  become  to  the 
child  just  what  he  can  make  out  of  them.  And  it  is  not  simply 
in  power  to  construct  or  to  represent  that  the  child  grows 
because  of  this  activity.  To  make  something,  to  work  out  in 
materials  one's  idea,  means  growth  in  definiteness  and  control 
of  ideas.  The  one  adequate  test  of  ideas  must  always  be  some 
sort  of  expression ;  and,  for  the  adult  as  well  as  for  the  child, 
construction  is  one  of  the  most  important  forms  of  expression. 
We  would  gain  much  in  all  of  our  school  work  in  clearness  and 
definiteness,  if  we  resorted  oftener  to  construction  as  a  test. 
Of  course,  construction  is  not  to  be  limited  to  the  making  of 
things  of  three  dimensions.  The  map,  plan,  or  artistic  repre- 
sentation belongs  to  the  same  group,  and  is  developed  from  the 
same  instinctive  tendency. 

Just  one  more  word  of  caution  needs  to  be  given  with  regard 
to  work  of  this  kind.  In  constructive  work,  whether  with  wood 
or  clay,  or  with  pencil  or  brush,  the  point  of  departure  should 
be  the  child's  idea,  not  the  model  or  pattern  provided  by  an 


1 8       A  Brief  Course  ijt  the  Teaching  Process 

adult.  After  the  child  has  made  his  attempt,  then  let  him 
see  where  he  has  failed  by  reference  to  the  object  which  he  has 
tried  to  represent.  And  we  can  afford  to  be  satisfied  in  the 
beginning  with  a  crude  product,  so  long  as  it  satisfies  the  child. 
As  for  technique,  there  will  come  a  time  when  the  desire  for  a 
better  product  will  call  for  greater  skill  and  will  furnish  the 
very  best  possible  motive  for  the  necessary  practice. 

Imitation:  In  both  play  and  constructive  work  a  most 
important  element  is  the  instinct  to  imitate.  The  child  con- 
stantly imitates  adult  activities  in  play,  and  in  construction 
he  represents  the  objects  about  him.  As  has  already  been  indi- 
cated, it  is  in  this  way  that  he  clarifies  his  ideas,  that  he  gains 
experience.  In  imitation,  which  is  truly  instructive,  the  child 
does  not  consciously  plan  to  imitate;  it  is  enough  that  the 
model  is  present.  This  kind  of  imitation  is  sometimes  called 
spontaneous  imitation,  in  contradistinction  to  the  other  type 
of  imitation,  in  which  the  individual  persistently  tries  to  repro- 
duce the  activity  of  another.  In  the  latter  case  he  is  conscious 
of  the  process ;  and  this  type  is  sometimes  called  voluntary  imi- 
tation. This  distinction  is  important  for  teachers  in  many 
phases  of  school  work.  There  are  cases  where  the  only  satis- 
factory response  is  that  which  accords  with  the  model,  the 
standard  which  society  imposes.  We  do  not  want  a  child  to 
try  to  spell  a  word  without  being  conscious  of  the  form  com- 
monly accepted.  He  will  succeed  in  spelling  because  he  has 
studied  this  word,  or  is  able  to  build  it  up  from  his  knowledge 
of  its  constituent  parts.  On  the  other  hand,  wherever  creative 
work  is  to  be  done,  wherever  originality  is  required,  the  edu- 
cational value  of  the  exercise  is  inversely  proportioned  to  the 
degree  in  which  conscious  imitation  of  a  model  has  entered 
to  produce  the  result.  In  such  subjects  as  English  composi- 
tion, constructive  work,  science  work  involving  observation 
and  experiment,  what  we  want  above  all  else  is  the  attempt 
on  the  part  of  the  learner  to  express  his  own  ideas ;  and  it  is 
only  after  this  expression  that  any  adequate  appreciation  of 
model  or  of  criticism  can  be  hoped  for. 


The  Factors  Conditioning  the   Teaching  Process     19 

There  is  one  other  factor  in  connection  with  imitation  which 
is  of  great  importance  in  teaching  ;  namely,  that  children  per- 
sistently imitate  what  they  admire.  This  has  a  double  signifi- 
cance for  the  teacher.  Those  things  which  can  be  made  less 
attractive  will  tend  to  be  less  imitated ;  and,  conversely,  that 
which  is  held  up  as  worthy  of  great  respect  will  be  much  imi- 
tated. If  we  were  only  wise,  we  would  devote  our  attention 
to  the  leader  of  the  group,  trying  to  secure  the  appropriate  or 
desired  reaction  upon  his  or  her  part,  rather  than  devoting 
ourselves  equally  to  the  whole  group.  We  can  depend  upon 
it,  the  crowd  will  follow  the  leader  whom  they  admire.  Our 
appeals  often  mean  httle  to  children,  and  the  models  which  we 
set  up  have  little  effect,  because,  however  admirable  these 
standards  may  seem  to  us,  they  are  beyond  the  power  of  chil- 
dren to  comprehend  or  admire.  Instead  of  giving  a  boy  a  letter 
of  Jefferson  as  a  model,  better  give  him  the  one  written  by  his 
classmate.  Do  not  expect  the  girl  to  imitate  the  noblest 
women  in  history,  but  make  your  appeal  on  the  basis  of  the 
virtue  of  the  girl  she  likes. 

Emulation :  Much  that  has  been  said  above  under  imitation 
might  quite  as  well  have  been  written  under  the  head  of  emu- 
lation. As  social  beings,  we  tend  to  do  what  others  do.  Con- 
sciousness of  kind  compels  us  to  lay  great  store  upon  our  ability 
to  do  as  others  do.  When  in  Rome  the  difficult  thing  is  not 
to  do  "as  Romans  do,"  but  to  do  otherwise.  The  desire  to  do 
not  only  as  well  as  others,  but  to  accomphsh  more,  is  respon- 
sible for  much  that  is  achieved  in  the  world.  If  we  did  not 
have  others  with  whom  we  are  constantly  comparing  our- 
selves, few  of  us  would  do  as  well  as  we  now  do.  Rivalry  will 
always  be  one  of  the  greatest  means  of  bringing  about  im- 
provement or  advancement  in  social  conditions.  In  school,  as 
well  as  in  the  world  at  large,  rivalry,  if  kept  free  from  jealousy 
and  envy,  will  justify  its  existence  by  the  results  produced. 
The  boy  or  girl  who  is  anxious  to  distance  his  fellows  in  school 
is  apt  to  be  the  man  of  ambition  and  of  success  in  later  life. 


20       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

Pugnacity :  More  prominent  in  boys  than  in  girls,  but  present 
in  some  degree  in  every  individual,  is  the  instinct  to  fight, 
the  desire  not  to  be  overcome  either  by  persons  or  conditions 
which  surround  us.  In  so  far  as  this  instinct  leads  to  physi- 
cal encounter,  for  all  except  the  unusually  strong  physically, 
the  correction  comes  by  way  of  defeat.  For  all,  the  substi- 
tution of  games  which  involve  physical  prowess  for  fighting, 
and  the  substitution  of  victories  of  intellect  for  the  victories 
of  physical  combat,  point  to  the  utilization  of  this  instinct  in 
education.  It  is  sometimes  possible  to  appeal  to  this  in- 
stinct when  discouragement  and  defeat  in  school  tasks  seem 
inevitable.  No  boy  likes  to  be  told  that  he  has  been  downed 
by  the  task  in  long  division,  or  that  he  has  failed  to  make  good 
in  spelling  or  geography.  The  whole  world  hates  a  quitter, 
and  normal,  healthy  children  are  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

Curiosity:  Children  are  proverbially  curious  about  things. 
They  want  to  know  more,  to  enlarge  and  make  more  definite 
their  experience.  This  desire  shows  itself  in  their  actions  in 
handling  materials,  in  making  and  unmaking,  in  questions 
asked,  in  reasoning,  in  play,  and  in  imitating  others.  The  most 
striking  characteristic  in  the  mental  life  of  children  is  the  breadth 
of  their  interests,  due  to  this  instinct  of  curiosity.  Most  adults 
think  along  very  narrow  and  restricted  lines ;  not  so  with  chil- 
dren. While  it  is  true  that  they  do  little  abstract  thinking, 
there  is  scarcely  an  object  or  an  action  which  comes  within  the 
range  of  their  senses  that  is  not  followed  by  the  desire  to  find 
out  more. 

Children  have  the  spirit  of  inquiry,  have  many  problems,  in 
short,  are  mentally  active  to  a  degree  most  uncommon  among 
adults.  The  problem  of  the  teacher  is  how  to  keep  alive  this 
spirit  of  inquiry,  how  to  insure  a  continuance  of  this  mental 
alertness.  Much  of  our  school  work  has  certainly  tended  in 
the  opposite  direction.  Reciting  what  is  written  in  books, 
without  thought  or  question,  has  too  often  been  characteristic  of 
recitations.     The  appeal  to  authority,  whether  of  the  teacher  or 


The  Factors  Conditioning  the   Teaching  Process    21 

of  the  book,  instead  of  the  appeal  to  experience,  to  observa- 
tion and  experiment,  or  to  other  methods  of  establishing  truth, 
tends  to  kill  rather  than  to  strengthen  the  spirit  of  inquiry. 
We  should  place  greater  value  upon  the  intelligent  question 
than  upon  the  parrot-like  answer.  Respect  for  the  problems 
of  children,  even  when  they  seem  of  Httle  account  to  us,  rather 
than  ridicule  or  evasion,  will  tend  to  keep  alive  this  most 
precious  heritage.  Of  course  it  is  not  wise  to  encourage  the 
scatter-brained  boy  or  girl  who  never  thinks  about  the  same 
thing  for  two  minutes  in  succession.  One  great  function  of 
the  teacher  is  to  help  children  to  concentrate  upon  the  main 
issue,  to  show  a  child  that  his  question  is  irrelevant  to  the  prob- 
lem under  consideration,  and  to  guide  him  on  the  path  which 
makes  thinking  pleasant  and  profitable. 

It  would  be  a  good  thing  for  every  teacher  to  ask  herself 
whether  while  imder  her  direction  the  children  whom  she 
teaches  are  usually  mentally  alert,  thinking,  asking  questions, 
or  whether  they  concern  themselves  only  with  repeating  the 
thoughts  of  others.  If  there  be  any  doubt  with  regard  to  the 
children's  natural  aptitude,  let  her  observe  them  when  out  of 
school  and  contrast  the  result.  Mental  laziness  is  a  habit 
acquired  in  spite  of  our  initial  advantage,  in  spite  of  our  desire 
for  knowledge  and  the  pleasure  which  comes  from  thinking. 
The  school  and  the  teacher  must  always  be  judged  by  their 
success  in  keeping  children  awake  mentally ;  for  it  is  power  to 
learn  rather  than  knowledge  which  counts  in  later  years,  and 
learning  is  most  of  all  dependent  upon  the  initial  impulses 
toward  inquiry. 

Ownership :  Very  early  in  the  Hfe  of  the  child  the  idea  of 
personal  ownership  develops.  There  can  be  no  doubt  con- 
cerning the  importance  of  this  instinct  in  its  effect  upon  the 
achievements  of  men,  but  we  are  concerned  chiefly,  in  dealing 
with  children,  with  one  aspect  of  this  tendency  which  is  com- 
monly known  as  the  collecting  instinct.  This  desire  to  have 
the  most  complete  collection  of  buttons,  postage  stamps,  pic- 


2  2       A  Brief  Course  i7t  the   Teaching  Process 

tures,  birds'  eggs,  shells,  arrowheads,  or  whatever  else  it  may 
be,  may  often  be  utilized  to  great  advantage.  Illustrative 
material  for  work  in  history,  geography,  nature  study,  and  to 
some  degree  for  other  subjects  can  be  had  in  this  way.  Such  a 
collection  will  mean  not  only  a  much  greater  interest  in  the 
work,  but  also  a  hvelier  appreciation  of  the  subject,  more 
images  upon  which  to  base  its  generalizations.  I  have  never 
seen  a  class  that  learned  more  geography  in  a  short  time  than 
was  mastered  by  a  class  who  followed  the  American  fleet 
around  the  world,  collecting  pictures,  products,  and  stamps  for 
each  of  the  countries  visited,  and  writing  a  full  account  of  the 
country  visited  to  accompany  these  illustrations.  Another 
class  made  most  interesting  collections  in  connection  with  their 
study  of  colonial  history.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  ready- 
made  collections  will  answer  the  same  purpose.  They  may 
illustrate  better,  but  the  added  interest  and  enthusiasm  growing 
out  of  the  exercise  of  the  collecting  instinct  will  be  wanting. 

The  collecting  instinct  may  be  utilized  in  work  which  deals 
with  ideas  rather  than  things.  Children  may  be  just  as  keen 
in  collecting  ideas  about  a  subject  in  which  they  are  much 
interested  as  in  making  their  collection  of  stones,  or  birds. 
The  transition  from  the  one  type  of  collecting  to  the  other  is 
apparent,  in  collections  which  are  interesting  mainly  for  the 
ideas  which  they  suggest. 

The  Social  Instinct:  The  school  has  often  overemphasized 
the  individuaHstic  point  of  view.  Competition  is  a  legitimate 
motive ;  but  if  all  of  school  Hfe  centers  around  this  motive,  the 
child  has  lost  much  in  the  non-exercise  of  that  peculiarly  human 
instinct  which  demands  cooperation  and  sympathy.  At  the 
foundation  of  our  society  is  the  idea  of  working  together  for  the 
common  good.  Boys  and  girls  who  are  to  be  most  useful  to 
their  fellows,  who  are  to  do  the  most  for  society,  i.e.  those  who 
are  truly  educated,  must  have  kept  alive  and  developed  this 
spirit,  more  than  altruistic,  which  sees  in  the  good  of  society 
the  greatest  individual  gain.     In  a  later  chapter  this  topic  wiU 


The  Factors  Conditioning  the   Teaching  Process    23 

be  dealt  with  in  considerable  detail ;  suffice  it  to  say  here  that 
many  opportunities  should  be  found  for  group  projects,  for 
service  on  the  part  of  each  member  of  the  group  of  the  sort 
that  he  is  particularly  qualified  to  render. 

Wonder:  The  instinct  of  wonder  or  awe,  closely  related  to 
or  possibly  identified  with  the  rehgious  instinct,  is  one  that 
our  modern  critically  scientific  attitude  tends  to  discourage. 
No  one  who  has  had  the  experience  can  doubt  the  value  of  this 
element  in  mental  life.  To  wonder  at  the  glory  of  the  heavens 
will  doubtless  make  more  difference  in  the  lives  of  most  men 
and  women  than  the  smattering  of  astronomy  they  may  ac- 
quire. The  man  who  wonders  at  the  manifestation  of  the  power 
of  the  forces  of  nature  may  get  more  real  joy  out  of  life  than 
he  who  feels  that  he  has  solved  all  of  her  mysteries.  We  are 
not  as  a  people  remarkable  for  our  reverence.  It  may  be 
well  urged  that  our  schools  have  often  been  responsible  for  the 
opposite  attitude.  This  instinct  of  wonder  will  thrive  only  in 
a  S3rmpathetic  atmosphere.  No  teacher  can  directly  inculcate 
or  develop  it.  Only  that  teacher  who  has  preserved  and  nur- 
tured the  instinct  in  her  own  life  can  hope  to  be  effective  in 
keeping  alive  the  same  spirit  in  children. 

In  the  first  chapter  it  was  claimed  that  teachers  should  work 
to  develop  the  socially  sympathetic,  inteUigent,  and  active 
individual,  and  that  the  ends  to  be  expected  from  any  exer- 
cises might  be  classified  as  habits,  knowledge,  interests,  ideals 
or  appreciations,  and  methods  of  work.  In  our  discussion  of 
the  native  reactions  of  children,  we  have  endeavored  to  show 
that  the  possibilities  of  such  accomplishment  are  the  common 
possession  of  normal  children.  It  is  for  the  teacher  who  would 
accomplish  these  ends  most  economically  to  discover  the  in- 
stinctive basis  for  the  habit  to  be  formed,  the  knowledge  to  be 
acquired,  interest  to  be  awakened,  or  appreciation  to  be  aroused. 
The  instinctive  interests  of  children  will  furnish  the  most  power- 
ful motives,  and  will  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  most  lasting  results. 
Even  when  the  native  reaction  is  undesirable,  the  successful 


24       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

process  may  depend  not  merely  upon  negation,  but  upon  a 
grafting  upon  the  original  tendency  of  one  that  is  socially  desir- 
able; or,  in  other  cases,  the  substitution  of  another  reaction 
based  upon  some  other  instinctive  tendency.  We  may  not 
always  follow  where  instinct  seems  to  lead,  but  we  can  never 
ignore  these  native  tendencies.  Whether  we  blindly  ignore  or 
attempt  to  work  against  nature,  or  wisely  utilize  the  instincts, 
the  fact  remains  that  all  of  our  work  is  conditioned  by  the 
native  equipment. 

It  has  become  more  or  less  the  fashion  in  recent  years  to 
decry  the  theory  of  those  who  discuss  the  teaching  process 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  child's  native  tendencies,  and  with 
due  regard  to  his  interests.  The  reactionary  who  continually 
harks  back  to  the  good  old  times  is  still  with  us.  The  term  of 
ridicule  most  commonly  used  in  lieu  of  argument  is  "soft 
pedagogy."  We  are  told  that  the  only  way  to  develop  men 
and  women  of  strength  is  to  begin  by  making  sure  that  we  make 
our  appeal  on  the  basis  of  our  superior  authority,  or  even  brute 
strength,  instead  of  finding  the  foundation  for  our  work  in  the 
instinctive  curiosity  and  tendency  to  mental  activity  with 
which  children  come  to  us.  It  is  presumed  by  those  who  argue 
on  the  side  of  the  importance  of  authority  that,  unless  children 
are  compelled  by  others  to  do  hard  tasks,  they  will  never 
attempt  anything  that  involves  effort.  Again,  they  interpret 
interest  to  mean  the  blind  following  of  the  child's  instinctive 
tendencies. 

In  our  previous  discussion  we  endeavored  to  show  that  edu- 
cation concerns  itself  quite  as  much  with  the  inhibition  of  unde- 
sirable tendencies  as  with  the  encouragement  of  those  which 
lead  to  desirable  activity.  The  process  is  not  one  of  following 
where  children  lead,  but  rather  of  availing  ourselves  of  the 
native  tendencies  in  order  that  the  ends  we  desire  to  achieve 
may  be  accomplished  with  the  least  waste  of  time  or  energy. 
In  reality,  the  choice  between  the  two  positions  is  not  whether 
we  will  have  regard  for  childish  instincts  and  capacities,  but 


The  Factors  Conditioning  the   Teaching  Process    25 

rather  whether  we  shall  approach  our  task  from  the  standpoint 
of  one  who  has  faith  in  an  appeal  to  the  lower  motive  of  fear, 
or  whether  we  believe  that  children  are  best  prepared  for  later 
activity  who  work  out  their  own  problems. 

The  best  teaching  can  never  consist  in  driving  pupils  to  tasks 
which  they  do  not  understand  and  which  have  little  significance 
for  them.  The  standard  of  efiiciency  is  found  in  ability  to 
present  to  the  child  a  need,  a  purpose,  or  a  problem  which 
solicits  his  attention.  It  may  be  that  we  shall  be  but  imper- 
fectly able  to  accomplish  this  result,  but,  nevertheless,  this 
must  be  our  ideal.  And  it  is  not  for  reasons  of  sentiment  that 
we  adopt  it.  The  learning  process  is  explained  in  this  way  only. 
We  make  a  new  adjustment,  reconstruct  our  experience  only 
in  a  situation  which  makes  such  a  demand  upon  us.  When  a 
child  is  compelled  to  do  a  piece  of  school  work  without  realiz- 
ing the  significance  of  that  which  he  does,  there  is  substituted 
for  this  realization  of  need  or  problem  an  artificial  need;  namely, 
to  avoid  an  unpleasant  consequence. 

There  is  another  important  argument  which  must  not  be 
overlooked.  When  a  child  works  under  compulsion,  he  usu- 
ally gives  just  as  little  attention  to  his  work  as  may  be  neces- 
sary to  escape  painful  results.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  children 
to  divide  their  attention  most  skillfully  between  distasteful 
school  tasks  and  the  out-of-school  activities  in  which  they  are 
vitally  interested.  This  lack  of  undivided  attention  to  the 
work  in  hand  results  in  a  habit  of  work  which  cannot  fail  to 
be  disastrous  to  the  highest  intellectual  attainment.  It  is 
true  also  that  children  who  have  been  subjected  to  such  treat- 
ment come  to  look  upon  books  and  lessons  as  something  of  a 
nightmare,  and  are  only  too  glad  when  the  opportunity  pre- 
sents itself  to  leave  school  and  go  to  work.  The  child's  atti- 
tude, growing  out  of  his  school  experience,  is  quite  as  important 
as  any  result  which  we  may  achieve  in  knowledge. 

Professor  Dewey's  summary  of  the  relation  of  interest  and 
effort  defines  most  adequately  interest  in  its  true  significance^ 


26       A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

and  indicates  the  place  of  effort  in  educative  process.  He 
says :  — 

''Genuine  interest  in  education  is  the  accompaniment  of  the 
identification,  through  action,  of  the  self  with  some  object  or 
idea,  because  of  the  necessity  of  that  object  or  idea  for  the 
maintenance  of  self-expression.  Effort,  in  the  sense  in  which  it 
may  be  opposed  to  interest,  implies  a  separation  between  the 
self  and  the  fact  to  be  mastered  or  the  task  to  be  performed, 
and  sets  up  an  habitual  division  of  activities.  Externally, 
we  have  mechanical  habits  with  no  psychical  end  or  value. 
Internally,  we  have  random  energy  or  mind-wandering,  a  se- 
quence of  ideas  with  no  end  at  all  because  not  brought  to  a 
focus  in  action.  Interest,  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  opposed 
to  effort,  means  simply  an  excitation  of  the  sense  organ  to  give 
pleasure,  resulting  in  strain  on  one  side  and  listlessness  on  the 
other. 

''But  when  we  recognize  there  are  certain  powers  within 
the  child  urgent  for  development,  needing  to  be  acted  upon,  in 
order  to  secure  their  own  due  efficiency  and  discipline,  we  have 
a  firm  basis  upon  which  to  build.  Effort  arises  normally  in 
the  attempt  to  give  full  operation,  and  thus  growth  and  comple- 
tion, to  these  powers.  Adequately  to  act  upon  these  impulses 
involves  seriousness,  absorption,  definiteness  of  purpose,  and 
results  in  formation  of  steadiness  and  persistent  habit  in  the 
service  of  worthy  ends.  But  this  effort  never  degenerates  into 
drudgery,  nor  mere  strain  of  dead  Hft,  because  interest  abides 
—  the  self  is  concerned  throughout."  ^ 

Interest,  as  Professor  Dewey  defines  it,  is  intrinsic.  The 
pupil  does  his  work  not  because  he  hopes  to  escape  some  punish- 
ment or  get  a  high  mark,  but  because  the  work  of  itself 
commands  his  attention.  The  teacher  must  constantly  choose 
whether  she  will  work  for  interest  of  this  type,  which  depends 
upon  the  recognition  of  the  worth  of  the  task  to  be  performed, 
or  resort  to  an  interest  which  has  no  relation  to  the  work  to 

*  Dewey,  Interest  in  Relation  to  Will,  p.  12. 


The  Factors  Conditioning  the   Teaching  Process    27 

be  done.  Shall  she  appeal  to  the  child  through  his  instinctive 
dehght  in  finding  out,  in  constructive  work,  or  other  form  of 
expression,  or  shall  she  appeal  to  his  instinct  of  fear  of  a  whip- 
ping or  dislike  of  ridicule  or  nagging? 

It  is  true  that,  after  the  teacher  has  done  her  best  to  appeal 
on  the  basis  of  the  child's  needs  for  growth  and  development, 
not  all  children  will  respond  equally,  and  so,  as  in  the 
larger  society  outside  of  school,  the  child  will  need  to  be  kept 
from  interfering  with  others,  and  required  to  do  that  which 
those  who  are  wiser  have  decided  that  it  is  advantageous  for 
him  to  do.  But  this  resort  to  authority,  an  acknowledgment 
of  lack  of  abihty  on  our  part  or  the  result  of  unfavorable  con- 
ditions, must  come  last ;  it  should  never  be  the  point  of  de- 
parture. 

There  is  one  other  distinction  which  it  is  well  to  keep  in 
mind  when  we  think  of  interest.  Our  discussion  thus  far  has 
considered  interest  as  a  means  for  securing  certain  desirable 
ends.  We  may  not  forget  that  to  secure  interest  which  will 
persist  in  many  of  the  types  of  activity  found  in  the  school 
should  be  considered  as  an  end  worthy  in  itself.^  We  may 
hope  to  have  a  boy  interested  in  his  history  lesson  in  order  that 
he  may  gain  the  knowledge  contained  in  this  subject.  In- 
terest is  the  means  we  employ  to  secure  the  desired  result. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  may  hope  that  the  boy  we  teach  will 
continue  to  be  interested  in  history  throughout  his  life.  In 
this  latter  case  the  interest  which  we  hope  to  secure  in  history 
becomes  an  end  for  which  we  work.  As  a  result  of  any  system 
of  education,  we  are  justified  in  expecting,  not  only  an  increase 
in  the  command  of  facts  and  in  a  knowledge  of  the  best  method 
of  procedure  in  working  in  subjects  taught,  but  also  in  hoping 
for  the  development  of  lasting  interests  which  will  make  for 
a  continuance  of  the  period  of  education  and  for  greater  joy 
in  life. 

Heredity  in  Education:   An  inquiry  into  opposing  theories 

1  Thorndike,  Principles  of  Teaching,  Chapter  V. 


28       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

of  heredity  is  not  relevant  to  our  main  purpose ;  but  we  are 
concerned  with  certain  facts,  commonly  accepted,  which  con- 
dition our  work.  No  one  will  dispute  the  fact  that  the  children 
assembled  in  any  schoolroom  differ  in  native  capacity,  as  well 
as  in  experience.  Whether  genius  or  its  lack  are  apt  to  be 
reproduced  in  the  children  of  gifted  or  dull  parents  is  not  the 
question  the  teacher  has  to  solve.  For  her  the  demand  is 
too  often  that  she  turn  out  a  uniform  product  from  a  group 
of  individuals  who  range  from  the  genius  to  the  dullard  or 
mental  defective.  It  is  well  for  teachers  to  reaHze  that  in  any 
non-selected  group  the  majority  of  individuals  may  be  ex- 
pected to  be  of  ordinary  ability,  and  that  a  few  will  range 
above  this  standard,  and  a  few  will  fall  below.  The  important 
thing  to  remember  is  that  a  group  of  normal  children  cannot 
be  ranged  in  ability  in  two  or  three  distinct  groups  with  clearly 
defined  boundaries,  but  that  if  any  adequate  test  be  given,  we 
will  find  that  they  distribute  themselves  over  a  wide  range,  with 
small  rather  than  large  differences  between  individuals.  For 
example  :  if  a  searching  test  in  fundamental  operations  of  arith- 
metic is  given,  w^e  know  that  some  child  will  probably  get 
nearly  all  of  the  work  done  correctly,  and,  even  with  our  care 
in  grading,  some  child  in  the  group  will  probably  fail  in  more 
than  half  of  the  work ;  and  that  between  these  two  extremes 
we  will  have  almost  every  grade  of  ability  represented,  with 
a  tendency  for  a  considerable  number  to  group  themselves  at 
about  that  point  which  we  consider  ordinary  or  average  ability.^ 
Not  only  is  it  true  that  individuals  differ  in  abihty  of  any 
particular  sort,  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  child  who  has  little 
ability  in  one  direction  may  be  up  to  the  average  or  have  more 
than  usual  ability  in  some  other  direction.  In  our  teaching 
we  should  have  a  minimum  standard  of  efficiency  for  all  who 
are  not  mentally  defective,  and  we  should  strive  earnestly  to 
have  all  reach  this  goal.     If  wisely  selected,  this  minimum 

1  For  statistics  and  further  argument  concerning  individual  difference,  see 
Thomdike,  Educational  Psychology,  Chapter  VIII. 


The  Factors  Conditioning  the   Teaching  Process     29 

will  include  that  which  is  absolutely  necessary  for  further 
advancement  along  the  line  of  work  pursued.  The  majority 
of  the  class  should  achieve  results  beyond  this  minimum,  and 
for  the  exceptionally  bright  child  the  maximum  should  be 
fixed  only  by  the  child's  ability  and  the  requirements  of  good 
health.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  make  all  alike  ;  it  is  v/rong 
to  limit  the  accomplishment  of  the  gifted  by  the  capacity  of 
the  majority ;  these  are  the  lessons  which  the  consideration  of 
the  capacities  of  any  group  of  children  should  teach.  We 
cannot  furnish  ability,  but  we  may  create  an  attitude  of  list- 
lessness  and  mental  laziness,  if  we  do  not  give  the  bright  child 
enough  to  do.  Education  demands  a  recognition  of  peculiar 
abilities  and  their  nurture.  We  can  never  create  genius  from 
mediocre  ability,  and  we  may  not  assume  that  genius  is  irre- 
pressible. 

For  Collateral  Reading 

E.  L.  Thorndike,  Principles  of  Teaching,  Chapters  V  and  VI. 

E.  L.  Thorndike,  Individuality. 

E.  A.  Kirkpatrick,  Fundamentals  of  Child  Study,  Chapter  IV. 

Exercises.  ' 

1.  What  institutions  contribute  to  the  education  of  children? 

2.  Why  has  the  responsibility  of  the  school  increased  during  the  past 
century  ? 

3.  How  would  you  justify  compulsory  education  ?     Medical  examina- 
tion ?     Compulsory  dental  treatment  ? 

4.  Why  do  changed  social  conditions  demand  changed  methods  of 
instruction  as  well  as  a  different  curriculum  ? 

5.  Why  does  the  teacher  need  to  know  the  home  life  of  the  children  in 
her  class  ? 

6.  What  is  the  significance  of  parents'   and  mothers'   clubs,  or  any 
other  organization  of  the  teachers  and  the  patrons  of  the  school  ? 

7.  Why  should  teachers  participate  in  the  campaign  against  tuber- 
culosis ? 

8.  Give  instances  from  your  own  experience  of  the  educative  value  of 
play. 


30       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

9.  Why  can  a  boy  write  a  better  composition  about  making  a  kite 
than  on  "Honesty  is  the  best  pohcy"  ? 

10.  WTiat  is  the  objection  to  providing  children  with  model  compo- 
sitions and  asking  them  to  write  on  closely  related  themes? 

11.  Give  examples  of  a  proper  appeal  to  the  instinct  of  emulation. 

12.  How  do  you  account  for  the  fact  that  in  some  classes  children 
seldom  ask  questions? 

13.  What  value  is  there  in  a  collection  of  birds'  nests,  flowers,  minerals, 
woods,  and  the  like,  which  one  finds  in  some  schoolrooms  ? 

14.  How  would  you  hope  to  develop  the  social  instinct  in  the  pupils 
you  teach  ? 

15.  Give  the  children  in  your  class  ten  problems  in  addition,  score  one 
for  each  column  added  correctly,  and  compare  the  results.  Can  a  teacher 
create  abihty  ? 

16.  In  a  city  school  system  forty  per  cent  of  the  children  have  been 
retarded  one  or  more  years  during  their  school  life.  Do  you  think  that 
differences  in  abihty  justify  the  repeating  of  work  one  or  more  years 
by  so  large  a  percentage  of  the  children  ? 

17.  Should  we  try  to  have  children  develop  equal  ability  in  all  of 
their  studies,  or  rather  encourage  them  to  do  especially  well  in  one  or 
two  subjects? 

18.  Should  a  pupil  who  receives  only  forty  per  cent  in  his  arithmetic 
examination  be  compelled  to  repeat  the  grade  ? 

19.  State  the  argument  of  those  who  believe  that  disagreeable,  un- 
interesting work  is  most  valuable  in  educating  children. 

20.  What  reasons  can  you  give  for  the  demand  that  teachers  secure 
the  interest  of  their  pupils  in  school  work  ? 

21.  Why  is  it  bad  intellectually  for  a  child  to  divide  his  interest 
between  his  school  work  and  some  other  activity  while  doing  school 
work  ? 

22.  There  is  always  some  motive  present  when  work  is  accomplished 
in  the  school.  If  the  pupil  is  not  interested  in  his  work,  what  motives 
will  you  be  apt  to  find  in  operation  ? 

23.  Does  the  demand  that  children  take  an  interest  in  their  work 
mean  that  we  will  require  them  to  do  only  the  sort  of  work  which  is 
easy  for  them  ? 

24.  Name  three  situations  in  school  work  in  which  you  would  seek 
to  use  interest  as  a  means.  Three  cases  in  which  you  would  consider 
interests  as  ends. 

25.  In  which  situation  will  a  boy  write  the  better  letter:  when  asked 
to  write  a  letter  as  a  class  exercise,  or  when  he  writes  to  his  uncle  about 
their  plans  for  his  summer  vacation  ? 


The  Factors  Conditioning  the   Teaching  Process     31 

26.  The  ends  which  we  desire  to  attain  may  be  relatively  near  or 
remote.  Classify  the  following  aims  presented  to  children  according  to 
(i)  the  remoteness  of  the  end  to  be  achieved,  (2)  the  interest  which  you 
would  expect  children  to  take  in  the  work  for  which  these  aims  are  sup- 
posed to  furnish  some  motive.  Suppose  the  class  to  be  a  seventh-grade 
group  of  boys. 

1.  Learn  how  to  build  a  boat. 

2.  Become  a  writer  of  good  EngHsh. 

3.  Gain  in  skill  in  the  process  of  dovetailing. 

4.  Write  for  a  catalog  of  sets  of  tools  for  boys. 

5.  Find  out  why  England  maintains  the  largest  navy  in  the  world. 

6.  Prepare  a  description  of  the  building  of  the  Panama  Canal. 

7.  Decide  why  so  many  Russians  come  to  the  United  States. 

8.  Make  the  drawings  for  a  sled  to  be  built  for  his  own  use. 

9.  Make  a  rabbit  trap  from  plans  furnished  by  the  teacher. 

10.  Study  algebra  to  get  ready  to  go  to  college. 

11.  Write  a  story  of  an  interclass  basket-ball  game  for  the  school 
paper. 

12.  Enjoy  one  of  Kipling's  stories. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    TEACHING   PROCESS 

Education  means  change,  growth,  development.  The 
process  is  one  of  adjustment  in  which  the  individual  is  not  only 
affected  by  his  environment,  but  is  also  capable,  in  turn,  of 
changing  or  even  in  a  measure  creating  the  situation  in  which 
he  lives.  The  experience  of  any  individual  grows  in  meaning 
and  significance  through  successive  demands  for  new  adjust- 
mxcnts.  Among  the  lower  animal  forms  there  are  those  who 
have  very  Httle  power  of  adjustment ;  regardless  of  the  situa- 
tion presented,  they  can  react  only  in  one  way,  or,  as  the  animal 
structure  increases  in  complexity,  in  a  very  few  ways.  The 
power  of  adjustment  being  small,  the  possibilities  of  learning 
and  of  education  are  small.  As  has  already  been  indicated 
in  our  discussion  of  instincts,  human  beings  are  equipped  with 
many  tendencies  to  react,  and  with  power  to  react  in  a  very 
great  variety  of  ways.  Man  has  power  beyond  all  other 
animals  to  profit  by  experience,  and  is  distinguished  from  them 
by  his  power  to  learn  by  means  of  ideas,  not  simply  by  the 
process  of  trial  and  error.  Our  problem  is,  then,  to  inquire 
concerning  the  conditions  under  which  a  situation  demands 
adjustment,  under  which  experience  is  reconstructed,  and, 
further,  to  discuss  the  manner  in  which  socially  desirable 
reactions  may  be  made  the  permanent  possession  of  the  learner, 
while  those  inimical  to  social  w^elfare  are  eliminated. 

In  general  adjustments  are  made  in  response  to  one  of  the 
following  situations  :  (i)  when  satisfaction  of  some  instinctive 
need  results ;  (2)  when  satisfaction  of  an  idea  of  an  end  to  be 
reached,  the  attainment  of  which  will  satisfy  some  instinctive 
or  acquired  need,  results ;  (3)  when  satisfaction  of  an  acquired 

32 


The  Teaching  Process  33 

need,  functioning  at  the  time  the  adjustment  is  made,  is  the 
immediate  result.  In  these  cases  a  type  of  adjustment  not 
instinctively  demanded  and  not  originally  in  itself  pleasing 
reaches  a  point  where  it  is  in  itself  satisfying.  The  value  of 
the  experience  is  intrinsic. 

Little  need  be  said  concerning  the  first  class  of  adjustments 
in  addition  to  our  discussion  of  instincts  in  the  previous  chap- 
ter. When  one  finds  himself  in  a  situation  which  threatens 
bodily  harm,  he  instinctively  tries  to  get  out  of  the  way.  In 
the  presence  of  materials,  children  instinctively  handle  them, 
or  make  a  noise  with  them,  or  attempt  to  construct  something. 
The  schoolboy,  with  his  questions,  his  collection  of  stamps, 
his  adherence  to  his  gang,  is  making  adjustments  which  satisfy 
instinctive  needs. 

Under  the  second  class  are  included  reactions  in  which  the 
satisfaction  of  the  instinctive  need  is  not  the  immediate  result, 
and  those  cases  where  satisfaction  may  be  explained  only  by 
reference  to  an  acquired  need.  The  essential  characteristic 
of  this  class  of  adjustments  is  the  fact  that  the  idea  intervenes. 
It  is  for  the  satisfaction  of  our  idea  of  an  end  which  may  be 
remote  for  which  the  adjustment  is  made.  A  pupil  may  try 
to  read  well  because  he  has  the  idea  that  reading  well  pleases 
the  teacher.  The  end  desired  may  be  simply  to  get  along  with 
the  teacher  without  the  discomfort  of  a  scolding,  or  because 
of  his  instinctive  desire  for  praise.  A  boy  may  labor  diligently 
in  building  a  sled  because  of  his  idea  of  the  pleasure  which  will 
result  to  himself  or  possibly  to  others.  A  group  of  children 
may  save  their  pennies  to  buy  books,  instead  of  satisfying  their 
desire  for  candy,  because  of  their  idea  of  satisfaction  to  be 
derived  from  the  books  to  be  bought.  A  man  may  endure 
many  hardships  because  of  his  idea  of  future  wealth,  political 
preferment,  fame,  or  other  good  which  he  hopes  will  result. 

After  a  time  activities  which  were  stimulated  by  the  idea 
of  a  satisfactory  end  to  be  achieved  may  be  repeated  for  their 
own  sake.     This  gives  us  our  third  class  of  adjustments.     The 


34       -^  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

boy  may  find  it  very  difficult  to  spend  five  hours  a  day  with 
books,  while  the  man  finds  his  chief  delight  in  this  form  of 
activity,  altogether  aside  from  a  result  beyond  his  present 
satisfaction.  A  child  may  begin  to  read  because  of  the  au- 
thority of  the  teacher  and  his  fear  of  unpleasant  consequences, 
and  yet  may  later  come  to  find  great  delight  in  reading.  In 
teaching  we  should  strive  to  bring  as  many  as  possible  of  the 
adjustments  to  be  made  under  this  last  category.  The  boy 
or  girl  who  finds  his  greatest  satisfaction  in  making  the  ad- 
justments, in  gaining  the  experience,  in  doing  the  work  that 
the  school  provides,  is  getting  the  best  possible  preparation  for 
the  hfe  of  the  man  or  woman  who  finds  his  own  greatest  joy 
in  his  everyday  activity.  We  need  not  be  discouraged  be- 
cause of  the  seeming  impossibility  of  the  task,  since  its  achieve- 
ment would  indicate  perfection,  toward  which  we  strive,  and 
which,  because  it  is  perfection,  we  never  achieve.  Adjust- 
ments are  to  be  made,  experiences  must  be  had ;  and  our  appeal, 
whether  based  upon  the  satisfaction  of  instinctive  tendencies, 
the  idea  of  ends  near  or  remote,  or  the  satisfaction  of  acquired 
needs  which  are  socially  advantageous,  must  be  the  highest 
appeal  which  can  now  be  made  with  the  assurance  that  the 
resulting  reaction  will  be  secured. 

There  is  one  point  which  all  of  these  situations  which  call 
for  adjustment  have  in  common;  that  is,  satisfaction.  This 
fact  is  fundamental  in  teaching.  Not  only  are  we  Hmited  in 
our  work  by  native  tendencies  and  capacities,  but  the  results 
must  give  satisfaction,  else  the  reaction  induced  will  tend  not 
to  be  repeated.  Of  course  satisfaction  or  pleasure  is  a  relative 
term ;  possibly  it  would  be  fairer  to  say  that  the  individual 
reacts  in  the  way  which  will  result  in  the  least  dissatisfaction 
or  pain.  A  boy  may  dislike  to  write  in  a  copybook,  but  he 
may  prefer  that  to  a  whipping  or  to  being  kept  after  school. 
There  is  one  other  possible  misconception  which  must  be  guarded 
against.  That  which  the  individual  considers  most  satisfactory 
may  not  be  best  for  his  well-being,  nor  for  the  welfare  of  others 


The  Teaching  Process  35 

with  whom  he  associates.  It  is  the  work  of  the  teacher  to 
encourage  adjustments  which  are  socially  desirable,  and  to 
make  unpleasant  the  results  which  are  socially  disadvantageous, 
even  though  they  originally  gave  satisfaction  to  the  individual. 

Corresponding  to  the  types  of  adjustment  mentioned  above 
are  the  types  of  attention.  When  the  adjustment  is  made  in 
response  to  an  instinctive  tendency  to  react,  we  have  what  is 
called  passive  or  involuntary  attention.  The  boy  who  looks 
at  the  door  when  it  opens,  who  makes  a  paper  boat  instead  of 
doing  his  work  in  arithmetic,  or  who  talks  to  his  neighbor 
about  the  ball  game  they  are  to  play  after  school,  is  passive  so 
far  as  any  attempt  to  control  his  mental  activities  is  concerned. 
He  is  following  the  line  of  least  resistance.  He  does  not  will 
to  make  these  adjustments,  or  to  attend  to  these  things ; 
hence  we  say  that  he  attends  involuntarily,  that  he  is  passive 
in  the  situation. 

A  second  type  of  attention  is  that  in  which  the  individual 
makes  an  adjustment,  follows  a  given  line  of  activity,  volun- 
tarily. He  is  active  in  his  determination  to  accompKsh  certain 
ends,  and  in  order  to  secure  these  results  he  resists  the  ten- 
dency to  wander,  to  give  his  attention  to  other  elements  in  the 
situation  which  may  be  natively  more  attractive.  This  type 
of  attention  we  call  active.  We  have  this  type  of  attention 
wherever  the  individual  works  for  the  satisfaction  of  his  idea 
of  an  end  worthy  to  be  accompHshed.  It  corresponds  to  the 
second  class  of  adjustments  mentioned  above. 

Through  the  exercise  of  active  attention  over  a  considerable 
period,  the  necessity  for  effort,  for  the  exercise  of  the  will  in 
order  that  we  may  not  wander  from  the  main  purpose,  be- 
comes less  and  less,  until  finally  a  passive  attitude  is  again 
reached.  This  tj^pe  of  attention  is  designated  as  secondary 
passive  attention.^  It  corresponds  to  the  third  type  of  ad- 
justments named  above. 

^  For  this  classification  of  attention,  see  Titchener,  Primer  oj  Psychology^ 
Chapter  V. 


36       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

In  teaching,  we  begin  most  frequently  with  passive  atten- 
tion; we  work  most  earnestly  to  secure  and  to  hold  active 
attention ;  and  if  our  work  is  successful,  children  will  reach  the 
stage  of  secondary  passive  attention,  at  least  with  reference  to 
some  of  the  activities  found  in  the  school. 

In  the  first  grade,  in  the  beginning  reading  class,  the  teacher 
appeals  to  the  children  on  the  basis  of  their  instinctive  delight 
in  movement,  their  desire  to  be  like  or  to  excel  others,  their 
pleasure  in  drawing  with  pencil  or  crayon,  their  love  of  a  good 
story,  and  other  like  instinctive  tendencies  to  react.  The  ad- 
justments made  are  in  response  to  instinctive  needs,  and  the 
attention  is  largely  passive.  Gradually,  as  the  work  progresses, 
the  ends  to  be  achieved  will  become  more  remote,  and  instead 
of  immediate  satisfaction  of  instinctive  needs,  the  children 
will  work  for  the  satisfaction  of  their  ideas  of  ends  which  are 
desirable,  whether  based  on  instinctive  or  acquired  needs. 
They  may  work  diligently  in  the  phonic  or  word  drill  because 
they  have  the  idea  that  this  must  be  done  in  order  to  read  the 
story,  and  the  end  ultimately  to  be  satisfied  may  be  to  give 
pleasure  to  others.  The  adjustment  is  made  here  in  response  to 
the  idea  of  an  end  to  be  secured,  which  represents  the  satis- 
faction of  a  need  which  probably  has  been  acquired  in  the 
school  or  at  home.  Later  in  the  history  of  these  same  children 
they  may  read,  overcoming  whatever  difficulties  may  present 
themselves,  simply  because  this  process  is  for  them  in  itself 
worth  while.  Here  we  have  the  adjustment  v/hich  gives  im- 
mediate satisfaction  of  an  acquired  need,  and  the  type  of  at- 
tention which  has  been  designated  as  secondary  passive. 

The  problem  for  the  teacher  is  to  secure  continued  attention 
to  one  thing.  Almost  any  exercise  which  the  school  offers 
will  be  interesting  for  a  brief  time  because  it  is  something  new. 
The  difficult  task  is  not  to  get  attention,  but  to  hold  it.  Chil- 
dren attend  to  the  situation  at  hand  just  as  long  as  it  proves 
more  attractive  than  some  other.  The  boy  who  is  called  in- 
attentive may  be  most  attentive  to  the  plan  he  is  making  to 


The   Teachiiig  Process  37 

earn  money  to  go  to  the  circus.  The  teacher  must  endeavor 
to  discover  ends  sufficiently  attractive  to  command  the  active 
attention  of  children  for  a  considerable  period.  The  child 
must  be  wiUing  to  exert  himself,  and  the  motive  for  his  effort 
must  be  strong  enough  to  bring  him  back  to  the  task  in  hand 
every  time  that  he  tends  to  wander.  Often  the  success  of  the 
work  will  depend  upon  a  recognition  of  the  fact  that  it  is  very 
difficult  to  attend  for  any  considerable  period  to  a  situation 
in  which  the  elements  do  not  vary.  We  may  secure  continued 
concentrated  attention  by  recognizing  the  fact  that  variety 
in  procedure,  or  in  appeal,  will  make  it  possible  for  the  child 
to  keep  his  attention  fixed.  Take,  for  example,  a  topic  in 
geography.  The  teacher  will  question  to  bring  out  different 
aspects  of  a  topic,  show  the  children  pictures  or  use  illus- 
trative materials,  have  children  read  the  map,  tell  a  story  or 
incident  relating  to  the  situation  under  consideration,  and  in 
this  manner  keep  children  actively  thinking  on  one  topic  for 
half  an  hour.  We  shall  discuss  at  some  length  the  problem 
of  aim,  in  connection  with  the  inductive  development  lesson. 
Suffice  to  say  here  that  often  we  fail  to  secure  the  continued 
attention  of  children  because  we  ask  them  to  attend  to  that 
which  for  them  lacks  interest  or  significance. 

Children  work  hardest  when  the  problem  to  be  solved  is 
one  that  they  recognize  as  their  own.  They  make  adjustments 
which  mean  immediate  satisfaction,  or  which  they  believe  will 
ultimately  give  satisfaction.  Our  difficulty  is  often  that  the 
end  we  set  up  is  too  remote.  The  idea  of  becoming  a  well 
educated  man  will  not  ordinarily  be  powerful  enough  to  keep  a 
boy  at  work  on  a  composition,  but  the  desire  to  be  the  author  of 
a  paragraph  in  the  school  paper,  to  write  to  a  boy  in  another 
city  or  country,  or  to  compose  part  of  a  drama  which  the  class 
will  act  for  their  friends,  may  mean  the  hardest  sort  of  work,  the 
most  concentrated  attention  of  which  he  is  capable. 

The  children  with  v/hom  we  work  come  to  us  with  tendencies 
to  react,  and  are  capable  of  reacting  in  a  great  variety  of  ways. 


38       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

They  learn  by  making  adjustments  to  a  great  variet}^  of  situa* 
tions.  The  teaching  process  consists  in  providing  the  situa- 
tions and  the  stimuH  to  action,  in  guiding  the  individual  in 
such  a  way  that  the  undesirable  reactions  will  be  eliminated  by 
disuse  or  because  the  results  are  unpleasant,  in  making  per- 
manent desirable  native  reactions  or  those  which  have  been 
grafted  upon  or  derived  from  them  by  making  the  results 
pleasant. 

The  teaching  process  is,  in  general,  as  described  above; 
but  the  actual  work  of  the  teacher  varies  greatly  as  she  strives 
now  for  one  end  and  again  for  another.  There  is  a  methodology 
of  habit  formation  which  the  teacher  must  command  if  she  is 
to  do  successful  work  in  equipping  her  pupils  with  desirable 
habits.  If  our  problem  is  one  that  lends  itself  to  the  inductive 
method,  we  have  one  sort  of  procedure ;  while  if  the  thinking 
involved  is  deductive,  certain  other  elements  enter.  There  is  a 
kind  of  work  in  which  we  aim  primarily  for  appreciation,  and 
at  another  time  we  are  chiefly  concerned  in  teaching  children 
how  to  study.  The  proper  conduct  of  a  review  or  examination, 
and  the  type  of  exercise  commonly  known  as  a  recitation  lesson, 
need  to  be  discussed  in  some  detail.  In  the  chapters  which 
immediately  follow,  each  of  these  types  of  schoolroom  exercises 
will  be  considered.  Success  in  teaching  consists  quite  as  much 
in  working  definitely  for  well  defined  ends  which  may  be  ac- 
compHshed  in  this  fifteen  minutes,  this  half  hour,  or  during  this 
week,  as  in  keeping  in  mind  the  more  general  aims  of  education. 
Indeed,  the  only  way  in  which  we  can  secure  the  larger  ends  is 
by  successfully  achieving  the  lesser  tasks.  The  teacher  who 
knows  that  she  has  fixed  this  desirable  habit  of  thought,  feel- 
ing, or  action,  that  this  bit  of  knowledge  has  taken  its  place  in  a 
usable  system,  that  this  ideal  or  purpose  has  been  awakened, 
that  certain  methods  of  work  are  available  for  the  group  of 
children  whom  she  is  teaching,  —  that  teacher  can  be  sure 
that  she  is  fulfilling  her  mission. 


The  Teaching  Process  39 


For  Collateral  Reading 

E.  J.  Swift,  Mind  in  the  Making^  Chapter  VI. 

E.  A.  Kirkpatrick,  Genetic  Psychology,  Chapter  X. 

Exercises. 

1.  When  a  teacher  raps  her  pencil  against  a  desk  and  the  children 
look  toward  her,  what  is  the  type  of  adjustment  made  ?  When  will  they 
cease  to  pay  attention  to  the  rap  of  the  pencil  ?  What  suggestion  would 
you  offer  concerning  the  danger  which  may  be  found  in  rapping  the 
pencil  against  the  desk,  ringing  a  bell,  clapping  the  hands,  shouting 
"be  quiet"  ? 

2.  Name  some  exercises  in  arithmetic  in  which  you  may  depend 
somewhat  upon  instinctive  adjustments  to  insure  progress. 

3.  Where  do  you  think  you  will  find  the  most  instinctive  adjustments, 
—  in  geography,  arithmetic,  drawing,  EngHsh  composition,  or  physical 
training  ? 

4.  A  boy  who  had  done  poor  work  in  algebra  improved  greatly  when 
changed  from  a  class  taught  by  a  man  to  one  taught  by  a  woman.  How 
would  you  account  for  the  change,  taking  it  for  granted  that  the  teachers 
were  equally  competent  ?     What  type  of  adjustment  did  the  boy  make  ? 

5.  Why  is  it  that  any  new  subject  will  prove  attractive  for  a  short 
time,  and  children  will  later  show  a  lack  of  interest  in  the  work  ? 

6.  Is  there  any  difference  between  making  a  class  period  interesting 
and  finding  a  motive  which  appeals  to  children  which  will  lead  them  to 
desire  to  cover  the  material  which  you  have  assigned  ? 

7.  Which  is  the  better,  to  have  a  girl  study  her  geography  lesson  to 
please  the  teacher  or  to  have  her  at  work  trying  to  solve  a  problem  in 
which  she  is  interested  ? 

8.  What  sort  of  results  do  teachers  secure  who  compel  children  to 
learn  their  lessons  through  fear  of  being  ridiculed  or  otherwise  punished  ? 
If  these  children  know  as  much  as  other  children  whose  teacher  has  them 
at  work  satisfying  their  idea  of  pleasure,  —  which  will  result  in  being 
able  to  read  well  to  the  class,  prepare  their  part  of  the  class  drama,  or 
investigate  in  fields  in  which  they  are  much  interested,  —  would  you, 
then,  consider  the  first  sort  of  teaching  as  satisfactory  as  the  second  ? 

9.  To  what  degree  can  you  depend  upon  the  awakening  of  intellectual 
interests  to  provide  a  motive  for  good  work  on  the  part  of  pupils  ? 

10.  Do  you  think  the  following  hst  of  questions  would  prove  intel- 
lectually stimulating  to  a  group  of  sixth-grade  pupils :  — 

"  Where  is  Philadelphia  ?    What  is  the  capital  of  New  York  ?    What 


40       A  Brief  Course  m  the   Teaching  Process 

are  the  principal  rivers  of  the  Middle  Atlantic  states  ?  Where  is  Pitts- 
burgh ?  For  what  is  Pittsburgh  noted  ?  What  river  forms  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Pennsylvania?  Bound  Virginia.  Locate  the  capitals  of 
the  states  in  this  group.  Name  two  valuable  products  raised  near  the 
coast.     Describe  the  surface  of  this  group  of  states." 

11.  How  many  children  in  your  class  find  satisfaction  in  their  school 
work  sufficient  to  keep  them  at  it  if  no  marks  were  given  and  no  one 
compelled  them  to  attend  school  ?  Are  there  some  subjects  or  parts  of 
subjects  where  you  secure  this  sort  of  enthusiasm  for  school  work? 
Why  do  you  succeed  better  in  these  phases  of  school  work  than  in  others  ? 

12.  What  is  wrong  with  the  boy  who  is  quiet  during  the  recitation, 
apparently  absorbed  in  the  work,  but  who  gets  nothing  out  of  it? 

13.  WTiy  does  the  teacher  who  speaks  in  a  loud  tone  of  voice  in  order 
to  compel  attention  have  to  speak  louder  and  louder  as  the  day  advances  ? 

14.  What  is  wrong  with  a  class  which  does  good  work  in  long  division 
at  the  beginning  of  the  arithmetic  period,  and  very  poor  work  at  the 
end  of  thirty  minutes  ? 

15.  Give  examples  of  passive  attention,  active  attention,  and  second- 
ary passive  attention,  from  your  own  classroom  work. 

16.  Describe  the  situations  in  which  you  beheve  your  children  did 
the  best  intellectual  work.  How  do  you  account  for  the  excellence  of 
this  work? 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  DRILL   LESSON 

Many  responses  of  thought  and  action  must  be  reduced 
to  an  automatic  basis.  It  is  the  function  of  the  drill  lesson  to 
accompHsh  this  result.  In  some  schools  this  type  of  work  has 
been  overemphasized,  while  in  others  it  has  been  neglected. 
It  is  a  mistake  to  spend  the  whole  of  a  child's  time  and  energy 
drilling  him  upon  that  v/hich  some  one  else  has  thought.  He 
must  think  for  himself  while  a  child,  if  he  is  to  show  intellec- 
tual strength  as  a  man.  And  it  is  just  as  much  a  mistake  to 
believe  that  the  greatest  progress  in  thought  or  action  can  be 
achieved  without  careful  attention  to  the  formation  of  desir- 
able habits.  Probably  there  is  Httle  need  to-day  to  argue 
against  this  conception  of  teaching,  which  makes  the  teacher 
simply  and  solely  a  drill  master.  Our  respect  for  the  native 
tendencies  and  for  the  experiences  of  children,  our  emphasis 
upon  doing,  our  belief  that  the  best  preparation  for  future 
efficiency  is  to  be  found  in  present  childish  efficiency,  all  refute 
any  such  narrow  view  of  the  educative  process.  There  is, 
however,  in  some  quarters  a  danger  that  this  insistence  upon 
thinking  and  doing  may  be  construed  to  mean  that  drill  work 
is  no  longer  necessary.  There  are  children  who  are  terribly 
handicapped  in  their  later  work  because  they  have  not  learned 
to  spell  common  words,  to  write  a  legible  hand,  to  give  without 
hesitation  the  addition  combinations,  to  reproduce  the  multi- 
plication tables,  to  use  without  much  thought  the  processes 
commonly  employed  in  arithmetic  work.  They  find  difficulty 
in  reading,  because  they  lack  that  knowledge  of  phonetics 
which  would  make  easy  the  recognition  of  unfamiliar  words  in 

41 


42       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

their  reading;  they  stumble  in  geography,  fail  in  music,  lack 
ability  to  comprehend  their  work  in  nature  study  or  history, 
all  because  facts  essential  to  further  progress,  once  presented 
and  understood,  were  not  reduced  to  an  automatic  basis  by 
carefully  conducted  drill  exercises.  If  it  is  clear  that  much  of 
the  knowledge  which  children  acquire  must  be  reduced  to  the 
basis  of  habit,  we  may  next  inquire  just  how  this  drill  work  is 
to  be  related  to  the  other  part  of  the  school  work. 

Question  of  motive:  In  the  formation  of  habits  not  provided 
for  by  native  tendencies  to  react,  the  occasion  for  making  the 
adjustment  is,  as  in  the  case  of  our  thinking,  the  recognition 
of  a  need.  Our  first  attempts  to  talk  or  to  use  our  limbs  were 
due  solely  to  the  compelhng  force  of  instinct,  but  later  we 
learned  a  foreign  language  or  achieved  success  in  the  high 
jump  because  we  had  a  definite  aim  in  mind.  So  far  as  the 
teacher  is  concerned  with  habit  formation,  she  can  hope  to 
utilize  instinctive  tendencies,  but  may  not  depend  upon  them 
alone  to  secure  the  result.  A  motive  must  be  provided  for  the 
work.  The  stronger  this  incentive,  the  greater  will  be  the 
attention  given  to  the  work  in  hand  and  the  sooner  will  the 
desired  result  be  secured.  Very  much  of  the  drill  work  which 
is  done  is  well-nigh  futile  because  it  is  imposed  upon  children. 
They  do  not  see  its  significance,  and  feel  little  interest  in  the 
accomplishment  of  the  results  demanded. 

Ideally,  drill  lessons  should  come  when  the  children  see  that 
their  future  progress  is  conditioned  by  successful  formation 
of  the  habits  involved.  And  this  is  not  so  impossible  of  ac- 
complishment as  might  appear  at  first  sight.  If  the  material 
given  to  children  to  read  in  the  first  grade  is  of  such  a  nature 
that  they  really  care  to  read  it,  they  are  very  quick  to  see  that 
word  drill,  and  later  phonetic  drill,  will  help  them  to  secure 
the  end  desired.  Of  course  the  reply  may  be  made:  "What 
is  the  use  of  bothering  one's  self  with  this  attempt  to  make  a 
rational  appeal  to  children  ?  They  will  be  completely  satisfied 
if  you  simply  keep  them  at  it.     It  is  a  game  for  them.     They 


The  Drill  Lesson  43 

enjoy  it  simply  because  they  delight  in  accomplishment." 
One  might  reply  to  such  a  statement  by  calling  to  mind  the 
fact  that  the  school  exists  to  develop  rationality.  You  may  be 
perfectly  sure  that  frequently  enough  the  children,  and  later 
the  men  and  women,  will  be  driven  or  led  without  any  appeal 
to  reason.  It  will  undoubtedly  be  true  that  we  shall  have  to 
appeal  to  motives  other  than  rational ;  but  surely  this  appeal 
to  reason  should  be  made,  and,  if  our  education  is  successful, 
should  be  increasingly  potent  as  we  advance  from  grade  to 
grade.  Even  when  a  rational  motive  has  been  made  the  point 
of  departure,  we  shall  have  to  use  many  devices  to  keep  alive 
the  child's  original  intention.  But  let  us  frankly  admit,  both 
to  ourselves  and  to  the  children,  that  these  subsidiary  aims  are 
merely  aids  in  helping  us  to  achieve  the  more  worthy  aim.  If 
such  a  standard  of  motive  were  applied  throughout  our  work, 
we  should  probably  find  it  necessary  to  postpone  certain  ac- 
tivities which  we  insist  upon  for  no  reason  which  a  child  can 
understand,  until  there  was  some  real  use  for  the  habit  to  be 
formed.  We  might  even  find  ourselves  compelled  to  eliminate 
much  which  finds  no  application  in  real  hfe.  The  occasion  for 
drill  is  found  in  the  demand  for  automatic  control  of  thought  or 
action,  and  much  of  the  later  success  of  the  children  in  think- 
ing and  doing  will  be  conditioned  by  the  quality  of  the  work 
done  in  these  drill  exercises. 

Knowing  what  to  do :  A  clear  idea  of  the  result  to  be  accom- 
plished is,  of  course,  involved  in  the  notion  or  aim  as  it  has 
been  discussed  above.  The  importance  of  this  element  in 
habit  formation  cannot  be  overemphasized.  It  may  seem 
superfluous  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  every  child  should 
have  a  clear  idea  of  what  is  to  be  done  before  the  drill  work 
begins ;  but  it  sometimes  happens  that  the  teacher  takes  too 
much  for  granted.  Children  stumble  and  fail,  or  do  nothing 
at  all,  simply  because  they  do  not  know  what  it  is  all  about. 
It  would  seem  impossible  that  any  group  of  pupils  should  be 
asked  to  commit  to  memory  anything  which  they  did  not  un- 


44       ^  Brief  Course  i7t  the   Teaching  Process 

derstand,  and  yet  we  are  constantly  reminded  by  their  later 
interpretations  that  they  have  not  understood.  Such  logical 
organization  is  not  always  possible,  nor,  indeed,  eX^en  desirable, 
as,  for  example,  in  learning  addition  combinations.  In  such 
a  case  the  value  of  the  habit  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  we 
no  longer  attempt  to  rationalize  the  process  nor  attempt  to 
fix  it  in  a  logical  series.  But  whether  the  task  be  the  memoriz- 
ing of  a  poem,  the  learning  of  addition  combinations,  the 
formation  of  the  habit  of  neatness,  or  the  gaining  of  skill  in 
handling  a  saw,  it  is  essential  that  the  child  know  just  what  is 
to  be  done  and  that  he  be  provided  with  an  adequate  motive 
for  doing  it. 

Repetition  with  attention:  After  a  child  knows  what  to  do, 
has  the  right  idea,  and  the  greatest  possible  motive  for  doing 
has  been  provided,  the  teacher's  problem  consists  in  keeping 
alive  the  desire  to  achieve  the  result  while  the  process  of  repeti- 
tion is  going  on.  A  child  learns  to  spell  a  word  not  simply 
because  he  repeats  the  letters  or  writes  them  in  the  correct  order 
a  hundred  times.  We  all  have  knowledge  of  cases  in  which  this 
sort  of  repetition  has  seemingly  resulted  in  no  advancement. 
The  most  economical  method  of  learning  to  spell  requires  that 
the  maximum  of  attention  be  given  while  the  letters  are  re- 
peated. The  story  of  the  boy  who,  after  he  had  written  after 
school  the  phrase  "I  have  gone"  a  hundred  times,  wrote  at 
the  bottom  of  his  paper  for  the  information  of  the  teacher,  who 
had  left  the  room,  ''I  have  went  home,"  is  a  case  in  point.  The 
trouble  with  this  boy  was  not  that  he  had  not  repeated  the 
correct  form  often  enough,  but  that  he  had  not  attended  to  it. 
He  had  failed  to  realize  the  significance  of  what  he  was  doing. 
Doubtless  his  attention,  instead  of  being  fixed  on  the  work  in 
hand,  was  more  largely  given  to  the  game  of  baseball  his  com- 
panions were  playing,  or  to  the  prospect  of  the  delights  of  the 
swimming  pool.  Much  of  the  concert  work  that  one  hears 
shows  a  lack  of  attention  on  the  part  of  the  larger  part  of  the 
class  except  in  so  far  as  is  necessary  to  follow  the  leaders. 


The  Drill  Lesson  45 

Such  work  is  undoubtedly  helpful  to  those  who  lead,  but  it  is 
of  Kttle  use  to  the  others  who  take  part.  It  is  a  very  good 
plan  to  test  concert  work  by  listening  closely  to  distinguish 
those  who  are  carrying  the  burden,  have  them  stop,  and 
measure  the  success  of  the  work  by  the  result  which  can  then 
be  had. 

Means  of  holding  attention:  No  matter  how  strong  the 
motive  with  which  we  start,  any  one  of  us  will  grow  weary 
when  the  task  imposed  requires  many  repetitions.  It  is  even 
more  difficult  for  children  to  keep  their  attention  fixed  for 
any  considerable  length  of  time.  We  must,  therefore,  plan 
carefully  to  conduct  the  drill  in  such  a  way  that  the  maximum 
of  attention  may  be  secured.  Among  the  devices  which  are 
employed,  one  of  the  most  important  is  variation  in  procedure. 
Suppose,  for  example,  we  wish  to  spend  ten  minutes  in  drilling 
children  on  addition  combinations.  The  best  results  will  not 
be  secured  by  spending  the  whole  time  in  either  oral  or  written 
work.  Probably  the  maximum  of  attention  and  consequently 
of  result  could  be  secured  by  dividing  the  period  into  three 
parts:  one  devoted  to  oral  work,  holding  every  one  respon- 
sible for  every  answer ;  one  to  written  work  on  a  series  of  prob- 
lems provided  on  number  cards  or  mimeographed  sheets ;  and 
one  to  work  of  the  same  sort  placed  on  the  blackboard.  Of 
course  there  is  nothing  peculiarly  good  in  the  order  of  exer- 
cises suggested  above,  beyond  the  fact  that  they  give  variety. 
The  next  day  the  teacher  would  want  to  change  the  order  or 
to  introduce  a  new  type  of  exercise. 

Another  means  of  securing  the  maximum  of  attention  is  to 
place  a  time  limit.  Have  the  children  see  how  many  problems 
they  can  solve,  how  many  stanzas  they  can  commit  to  memory, 
or  how  many  words  they  can  learn  to  spell  in  a  period  of  ten 
minutes.  It  makes  a  very  great  difference  whether  the  teacher 
says  "work  on  this  task  for  ten  minutes,"  or  ''see  how  much 
you  can  get  done  in  ten  minutes." 

This  leads  us  to  consider  a  third  means  commonly  employed 


46       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

to  secure  earnest  work,  the  appeal  to  emulation.  The  desire 
of  a  pupil  to  do  as  well  as  other  members  of  his  class,  or  the 
desire  of  a  class  to  equal  the  record  of  another  class  of  the  same 
grade,  will  do  much  to  keep  attention  fixed  on  the  work. 
Neither  the  devices  mentioned  nor  any  others  will  avail  unless 
the  teacher  is  wide-awake  and  alert  herself.  The  greatest 
single  reason  for  lack  of  interest  and  attention  on  the  part  of 
the  class  is  found  in  the  indifference  and  lack  of  energy  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher.  It  is  useless  to  expect  vigorous  action  on 
the  part  of  pupils,  when  the  teacher  is  half  asleep  or  otherwise 
either  physically  or  mentally  incapacitated  for  good  work.  It 
is  possible  at  times  for  a  teacher  to  arouse  her  own  flagging 
interest  by  just  such  appeals  as  have  been  suggested  above  as 
applying  to  children. 

Necessity  jor  accuracy  in  practice:  Our  nervous  system 
is  so  constructed  that  to  do  anything  once  leaves  a  tendency 
to  do  the  same  thing  the  same  way  when  next  we  are  placed 
in  a  similar  situation.  It  is  bad  to  allow  careless  work  or 
random  guessing,  not  simply  because  the  result  in  this  one  case 
may  be  wrong,  but  more  especially  because  the  tendency  to  the 
wrong  reaction  is  there  and  must  be  overcome  before  the  cor- 
rect action  can  be  fixed  as  a  habit.  If  a  child,  the  day  after 
he  has  studied  the  word  foreign,  has  occasion  to  write  the  word 
and  does  not  know  how  to  spell  it,  it  is  a  mistake  to  permit  the 
word  to  be  written  incorrectly.  It  would  be  better  to  have 
the  child  discover  for  himself  or  find  out  from  the  teacher  the 
correct  form  before  attempting  to  write  the  word.  It  is  well 
to  insist  on  the  necessity  for  absolute  accuracy.  Better  by 
far  discontinue  the  drill  while  every  one  is  still  fresh  enough 
to  give  close  attention  to  the  work  in  hand  and  while  the  re- 
sponses are  accurate,  than  to  make  the  serious  mistake  of 
allowing  the  work  to  be  done  carelessly  or  to  flatter  one's  self 
that  approximately  accurate  results  are  good  enough.  Better 
be  sure  that  in  the  drill  work  on  the  multiplication  table  to-day 
the  children  have  invariably  given  the  correct  response  when  we 


The  Drill  Lesson  47 

have  asked  them  how  many  are  six  times  three  and  six  times 
four,  than  to  have  attempted  to  teach  the  whole  table  with  the 
knowledge  that  one  fourth  of  the  answers  have  been  wrong. 
We  should  not  be  misled;  the  child  who  gave  us  a  wrong 
answer  is  not  simply  wrong  this  time,  but,  what  for  us  is 
more  important,  will  tend  to  be  wrong  ever  after.  We  have 
more  than  doubled  the  task  we  set  out  to  accomplish.  We 
must  now  get  rid  of  the  tendency  to  give  the  wrong  answer,  and 
then  teach  the  correct  one.  In  our  later  consideration  of  the 
moral  life  of  the  child,  we  shall  have  occasion  again  to  point 
out  the  significance  of  this  principle. 

The  periods  elapsing  between  repetitions  or  series  of  repetitions 
should  he  gradually  lengthened :  The  fixing  of  a  habit  so  that  it 
shall  always  thereafter  be  available  to  determine  our  thought 
or  action  requires  that  we  do  more  than  arrive  at  a  point  where 
the  response  can  be  readily  secured  in  a  given  situation.  The 
word  which  your  pupils  spell  so  readily,  the  table  which  they 
recite  so  glibly,  the  poem  which  they  have  so  completely  mas- 
tered, will  apparently  have  completely  disappeared  next  week 
or  next  month.  Of  course  the  work  you  have  done  is  not 
without  effect.  It  will  be  easier  to  learn  the  word,  table,  or 
poem  again.  But  the  child  should  command  these  results  for 
which  we  labored  now.  There  is  a  body  of  knowledge,  a  group 
of  actions,  which  ought  to  be  available  automatically  at  any 
time.  If  we  are  to  succeed  in  fixing  this  body  of  habits,  if  they 
are  to  be  made  permanently  available,  we  must  recognize  the 
fact  that  when  we  have  first  secured  the  result  desired  we  have 
only  begun  the  process.  The  boy  who  recites  Lincoln's 
Gettysburg  Address  without  any  mistakes  to-day  has  made  a 
good  beginning;  but  if  that  address  is  worth  remembering 
always,  he  must  recite  it  several  times  during  the  next  week, 
and  go  over  it  again  next  month,  next  term,  and  next  year. 
There  will  come  a  time,  depending  upon  his  native  retentive- 
ness  and  upon  his  method  of  memorizing,  when  it  will  no  longer 
be  necessary  to  repeat  it  for  the  sake  of  fixing  the  address  m 


48       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

memory.  It  will  not  take  a  great  deal  of  time  to  recall  that 
which  we  believe  we  have  fixed  permanently  last  week  or  last 
month,  and  by  doing  this  we  shall  add  greatly  to  the  probabil- 
ity of  possible  recall  a  year  or  ten  years  from  now,  and  inci- 
dentally discover,  much  to  our  surprise,  how  much  has  already 
escaped. 

Teachers  often  unconsciously  follow  the  cramming  method 
in  their  attempt  to  have  children  advance  rapidly ;  and,  as  is 
always  the  case  when  this  method  is  employed,  what  has  appar- 
ently been  learned  is  soon  forgotten.  Fortunately  for  all  con- 
cerned, many  of  the  responses  which  need  to  be  reduced  to  an 
automatic  basis  are  demanded  over  and  over  again  as  the  child 
progresses  from  grade  to  grade,  and  are  thus  provided  for. 
But  much  that  is  now  lost  could  be  retained,  and  each  succeed- 
ing teacher  could  accomplish  more  than  is  now  customary,  if 
only  this  principle  of  habit  formation  were  commonly  observed. 

In  the  case  of  a  series  of  responses  to  he  made  automatic,  he 
careful  to  include  each  memher  of  the  series :  Much  of  our  work 
is  weak  because  it  lacks  system.  If  we  are  engaged  in  teaching 
addition  combinations,  we  should  be  absolutely  certain  that 
we  have  taught  every  possible  combination.  If  we  want  to  be 
sure  that  children  know  how  to  write  numbers  up  to  one  mil- 
lion, we  must  have  given  them  drill  on  all  of  the  possible  diffi- 
culties. If  children  are  always  to  respond  correctly  when 
problems  involving  two  steps  in  reasoning  are  presented,  we 
must  have  been  careful  to  provide  for  the  purpose  of  drill  all 
of  the  combinations  of  situations  involving  addition,  multipli- 
cation, subtraction,  and  division  which  can  occur.  For  any 
other  similar  field,  the  same  care  must  be  exercised. 

The  greater  part  of  the  time  should  he  spent  in  drilling  upon 
that  part  of  the  work  which  presents  special  difficulty.  There 
is  no  use  in  spending  one's  time  equally  on  all  of  the  words 
included  in  any  list.  Some  of  them  can  probably  be  spelled 
with  little  or  no  drill,  while  others  may  require  very  careful 
study  and  many  repetitions.     In  any  other  field  the  same 


The  Drill  Lesson  49 

situation  will  be  found.  Many  of  the  responses  desired  will 
be  reduced  to  the  basis  of  habit  readily,  and  a  few  will  require 
continued  attention.  It  is  the  function  of  the  teacher  to  dis- 
cover these  special  difficulties  as  soon  as  possible,  to  clear  up 
any  obscurity  in  ideas  which  may  stand  in  the  way,  and  then 
to  drill  with  special  reference  to  these  special  cases. 

Briefly  summarized,  it  is  the  function  of  the  teacher  in  guid- 
ing pupils  in  the  formation  of  habits  to  see  to  it  that  they  have 
the  correct  idea  of  the  thing  to  be  done ;  to  secure  the  maximum 
of  motive  and  to  maintain  the  maximum  of  attention  during 
the  process;  to  guard  against  carelessness  and  lapses  by 
insisting  upon  the  accuracy  or  the  adequacy  of  the  responses ; 
to  provide  occasion  for  repetitions  from  time  to  time  with 
gradually  lengthened  intervals ;  to  be  careful  not  to  omit  any 
of  a  group  or  series  of  responses  equally  important ;  to  spend 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  and  energy  of  both  herself  and 
pupils  upon  those  cases  which  present  special  difficulty. 


For  Collateral  Reading 

W.  C.  Bagley,  The  Educative  Process,  Chapter  XXII. 
S.  H.  Rowe,  Habit  Formation  and  the  Science  of  Teaching,  Chapter 
XIII. 

Exercises. 

1.  Name  the  subjects  or  parts  of  subjects  in  which  drill  work  is  essential. 

2.  What  was  there  of  value  in  the  old-fashioned  method  of  choosing 
sides  and  "spelling  down"  ? 

3.  Name  some  of  the  devices  which  you  have  used  in  driU  work,  and 
justify  their  use. 

4.  What  argument  can  you  advance  for  postponing  the  beginning  of 
writing  lessons  until  the  middle  of  the  first  year  or  later  ? 

5.  Which  would  be  better:  to  present  the  mukiplication  table  in 
regular  series  (3x1=3;  3X2=6;3X3=9,  etc.),  or  in  some  other  order  ? 
(3x5  =  15;  3x2=6;   3x7  =  21;   3x4  =  12,  etc.) 

6.  If  a  boy  was  writing  a  composition  and  wanted  to  use  a  word  that 
he  did  not  know  how  to  spell,  what  would  you  expect  him  to  do  ? 

E 


50       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

7.  What  are  the  objections  to  learning  rules  of  spelling  ? 

8.  In  a  drill  lesson  in  arithmetic,  which  would  you  consider  the  better : 
to  have  the  children  work  as  individuals  for  the  highest  score,  or  to 
divide  them  into  groups  and  have  one  group  try  to  do  better  than  the 
other  ? 

9.  Criticize  the  following  lesson,  as  a  fourth-grade  exercise  in  spelling. 
The  teacher  placed  the  following  Ust  of  words  on  the  board,  and  told 
the  pupils  to  study  them. 

believe  conduct  have 

forget  agriculture  manufacture 

store  plow  wagon 

cultivate  harness  exports 

crops  dairy  freight 

drought  fertilizer  transport 

depot  wheat 

10.  A  teacher  who  spent  a  large  part  of  her  time  having  the  class 
recite  the  multiplication  tables  in  concert  was  distressed  to  find  that 
a  majority  of  the  class  did  not  know  the  tables  when  examination  time 
came.     What  was  the  explanation  ? 

11.  In  a  school  where  the  children  had  a  forty-minute  period  for  a 
writing  lesson,  the  results  during  the  last  ten  minutes  were  invariably 
poorer  than  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  period.  How  could  you 
hope  to  change  the  result? 

12.  In  some  schools  the  teachers  always  spend  two  weeks  before 
the  examination  period  in  review  of  the  term's  work.  Why  are  such 
reviews  necessary  in  some  cases,  while  children  do  just  as  well  in  exami- 
nations in  other  schools  which  do  not  have  this  review  period  ? 

13.  A  teacher  taught  children  that  they  could  always  tell  how  much 
nine  times  any  number  was  by  subtracting  one  from  that  number  for 
the  tens  place,  then  adding  a  number  which  will  make  nine  for  the  units 
place  {e.g.  5x9=?  5  —  1=4  (tens);  4-1-5=9.  .*.  5  is  the  number  of 
imits,  and  5x9=45).    Is  this  a  good  way  to  teach  this  table? 

14.  How  can  you  know  when  it  is  wise  to  discontinue  drill  work  ? 

15.  Do  you  think  it  necessary  to  plan  for  a  drill  lesson  ? 

16.  Could  you  plan  your  work  so  that  your  pupils  will  know  at  the 
end  of  the  year  all  of  the  poems  you  have  taught  during  the  previous 
eight  or  ten  months  ? 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  INDUCTIVE  LESSON 

We  are  skeptical  to-day  of  that  sort  of  teaching  which  aims 
mainly  to  equip  children  with  a  body  of  accepted  knowledge  in 
order  that  they  may  sometime  find  use  for  this  body  of  informa- 
tion in  later  life.  We  emphasize,  rather,  the  control  of  mental 
activity  which  makes  for  the  discovery  of  truth  and  the  avoid- 
ance of  error.  Thinking  of  this  sort  is  purposeful.  We  control 
or  direct  our  ideas  toward  some  end,  toward  the  solution  of  some 
problem.  One  great  purpose  of  teaching  must  be  to  provide 
the  opportunity  and  the  stimulus  for  this  kind  of  thinking. 
We  may  not  be  able  to  lay  down  any  fixed  order  of  procedure, 
nor  to  devise  any  set  of  rules  whereby  children  may  be  trained 
to  be  good  reasoners ;  but  we  can  consider  what  is  involved 
in  the  process,  point  out  the  possibilities  of  interference,  and 
suggest  some  of  the  means  to  be  employed  in  encouraging  this 
type  of  mental  activity  on  the  part  of  children.  In  this 
chapter  we  shall  confine  ourselves  to  that  type  of  reasoning 
which  we  call  inductive.  This  type  of  schoolroom  exercise 
has  usually  been  treated  as  composed  of  five  steps;  namely, 
preparation,  presentation,  comparison  and  abstraction,  gener- 
alization, and  application.  We  shall  employ  this  classification 
to  guide  us  in  our  discussion  of  the  process. 

Preparation:  To  prepare  a  child  to  reason  in  a  given  situa- 
tion from  the  data  in  hand  to  the  conclusions  which  must  of 
necessity  follow,  it  is  first  of  all  necessary  that  he  should  see 
that  the  situation  presents  a  problem.  We  reason  only  when 
we  have  some  aim  or  purpose  which  can  be  satisfied  by  the 
process.  But  if  consciousness  of  aim  or  problem  is  at  the 
foundation  of  this  type  of  thinking,  and  if  we  are  to  deal  with 

51 


52       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

children  in  groups,  it  is  essential  that  the  situation  which  in- 
volves the  problem  be  made  the  common  possession  of  all. 
The  step  of  preparation  presents  these  two  problems  to  the 
teacher:  (i)  to  find  a  basis  in  experience  already  had,  or  to 
provide  the  experience  which  involves  the  problem  to  be  con- 
sidered; (2)  to  make  the  children  feel  the  necessity  for  the 
solution,  i.e.  to  make  the  problem  vital  to  them. 

In  considering  the  necessity  for  common  experience  as  a 
basis  for  discovering  the  problem  to  children,  we  are  dealing 
with  the  principle  of  apperception.  Briefly  stated,  it  is  this,  — 
that  any  object  or  situation  has  meaning  for  us  only  as  it 
connects  itself  with  and  is  interpreted  by  our  previous  experi- 
ence. Suppose,  for  example,  that  a  group  of  first-grade  chil- 
dren were  asked  to  tell  what  made  seeds  grow.  It  is  possible 
that  some  of  them  would  not  know,  could  not  interpret  from 
past  experience,  the  meaning  of  seeds.  If  the  class  were  at 
work  in  a  large  city,  we  could  be  sure  that  many  had  never  been 
conscious  that  growing  plants  had  any  connection  with  seeds, 
and  there  would  be  few,  if  any,  who  had  ever  noticed  the  condi- 
tions under  which  such  growth  takes  place.  The  first  problem 
for  the  teacher  in  this  case  would  be  solved  only  when,  through 
recall  of  past  experiences,  observations,  or  experiments,  the 
experience  ''seeds  growing"  became  the  common  possession 
of  the  group.  This  is  an  extreme  case,  one  in  which  the  expe- 
rience which  involves  the  problem  is  entirely  wanting.  At  the 
other  end  of  the  series,  we  may  have  a  problem  for  considera- 
tion, the  basis  for  which  is  found  in  experiences  common  to  all 
children.  But  even  though  this  be  the  case,  there  will  still  be 
need  for  the  recall  of  the  experience  and  for  making  prominent 
some  factor  heretofore  unnoticed  before  the  children  will  be 
ready  to  reason.  We  may  suppose  that  all  children  have  had 
experience  with  streets  or  roads,  but  we  shall  want  to  recall 
many  of  these  experiences  in  order  to  make  significant  the  prob- 
lem of  transportation  which  we  wish  to  consider  in  the  class 
in  home  geography. 


The  hiductive  Lesson  53 

The  step  of  preparation  has  only  partially  accomplished 
its  purpose  when  the  experience  necessary  to  the  realization  of 
the  problem  has  been  recalled  or  provided.  Still  greater  skill 
is  required  in  making  the  child  conscious  of  the  problem.  In- 
deed, it  may  well  be  argued  that  in  the  curriculum  as  it  is  at 
present  organized,  very  many  of  the  problems  that  we  ask  chil- 
dren to  solve  are  problems  for  them  only  because  we,  as  teach- 
ers, require  that  that  certain  piece  of  work  be  done.  Often 
the  child's  problem  consists  mainly  in  avoiding,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, the  work  which  we  require,  which  has  little  or  no  signifi- 
cance for  him.  Children  would  do  much  more  thinking  if  we 
were  only  more  careful  to  give  them  childish  problems  to  solve. 
Too  frequently  the  organization  of  knowledge  which  we  impose 
is  influenced  exclusively  by  our  adult  logical  conceptions. 
Not  that  children  should  be  illogical,  but  rather  that  child 
logic  and  the  child's  ability  to  reason  depend  upon  his  abil- 
ity to  appreciate  problems,  upon  his  experience,  and  upon  his 
ability  to  interpret  that  experience.  When  we  impose  our 
adult  point  of  view  upon  him,  when  we  ask  him  to  take  our 
problem  and  with  the  data  that  -we  supply  ask  him  to  work  out 
our  solution,  whatever  else  may  be  said  of  the  exercise,  it  may 
not  be  called  an  exercise  in  reasoning  by  children. 

If  we  do  respect  the  child's  experience  and  point  of  view,  the 
task  still  remains  of  making  all  of  the  group  of  children  we 
teach  conscious  of  the  aim  as  ilieir  problem.  There  is  no  greater 
test  of  teaching  skill  than  this.  Can  the  teacher,  after  having 
brought  to  mind  the  experiences  which  are  relevant  to  the  work 
she  wishes  the  children  to  do,  make  them  conscious  of  a  lack 
in  this  experience;  can  she  awaken  the  need  for  further  con- 
sideration of  past  experience  and  a  desire  to  reconstruct  and 
to  amplify  it  ?  In  proportion  as  she  is  able  to  accomplish  this 
result,  we  may  be  sure  that  children  are  reasoning  upon  prob- 
lems which  are  vital  to  them,  and  that  the  motive  has  been 
provided  which  will  secure  the  maximum  of  controlled  intel- 
lectual activity  on  their  part.     The  best  single  test  of  the 


54       A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

accomplishment  of  this  ideal  is  to  require  that  the  statement 
of  aim  be  made  by  the  children  themselves  as  a  result  of  the 
guidance  we  have  given.  This  conception  of  the  meaning  and 
significance  of  the  aim  suggests  the  solution  of  the  difficulty 
which  some  people  find  in  harmonizing  the  idea  of  instruction 
with  the  doctrine  of  self-activity. 

Instruction,  when  properly  conducted,  does  not  impose  the 
ideas,  the  problems,  or  the  conclusions  of  adults  upon  children. 
Rather  we  are  concerned  in  instruction  with  the  child's  expe- 
rience, his  tendency  to  react,  his  need  of  adjustment ;  and  our 
function  as  teachers  is  to  guide  him,  to  stimulate  him  to  his 
own  best  efforts,  to  insure  the  maximum  of  self-activity  while 
we  guide  this  activity  toward  the  accomplishment  of  ends  which 
are  desirable.  The  difficulty  is,  of  course,  that  the  problem 
for  solution  at  any  given  time  may  not  be  equally  vital  to 
every  member  of  the  groiip.  Here  is  where  the  element  of  con- 
trol enters  somewhat  in  opposition  to  the  self-activity  of  the 
individual.  But  this  condition  of  affairs  is  necessarily  true 
both  in  school  and  out  of  it,  for  society  sets  up  for  us  certain 
norms  or  standards  of  experience  which  must  be  realized  by  all, 
and  we  must  for  the  sake  of  economy  handle  children  in  groups. 
If  the  problem  is  not  beyond  the  child's  comprehension,  if  it 
deals  with  situations  which  are  significant  to  him,  if  the  solu- 
tion derived  has  some  bearing  on  his  future  action,  if  he  has 
carefully  scrutinized  his  experience  in  the  fight  of  the  problem 
stated  and  has  brought  to  bear  those  elements  which  are  sig-  . 
nificant  for  its  solution,  we  may  be  confident  that  the  activ- 
ity resulting  is  closely  akin  to  that  which  is  found  in  the  con- 
trolled thinking  of  men  the  world  over. 

In  order  that  it  may  be  more  easy  for  children  to  focus  their 
attention  upon  the  problem  in  hand,  there  is  considerable 
advantage  in  a  clear,  concise,  concrete,  and  preferably  a  brief 
statement  of  the  aim.^  A  problem  is  half  solved  when  one  can 
state  it  clearly.  So  long  as  the  problem  is  not  sufficiently  well 
*  McMurry,  Method  oj  the  Recitation,  Chapter  VI. 


The  Inductive  Lesson  55 

defined  to  admit  of  accurate  statement  on  the  part  of  pupils, 
there  is  danger  that  there  may  be  much  wandering  in  its  con- 
sideration. One  of  the  great  lessons  to  be  taught  in  work  of 
this  sort  is  the  need  of  examining  the  ideas  as  they  suggest 
themselves  to  see  whether  or  not  they  are  relevant. 

The  argument  as  it  has  been  stated  above  points  to  the 
statement  of  aim  as  the  culmination  of  the  step  of  preparation. 
This  does  not  mean  that  a  considerable  period  must  always 
elapse  in  the  conduct  of  an  exercise  of  this  type  before  the  aim 
can  be  stated.  There  are  occasions,  and  when  the  teaching 
has  been  good  they  should  be  frequent,  when  the  lesson  should 
begin  with  the  statement  of  the  problem  discovered  in  a  pre- 
vious lesson  and  made  clear  in  the  assignment  of  work.  In 
other  cases  the  same  aim  may  hold  for  several  days ;  i.e.  until 
the  problem  is  solved.  In  general,  as  we  advance  through  the 
grades,  the  ends  for  which  children  work  should  become  rela- 
tively more  remote,  and  the  achievement  of  these  ends  should 
require  a  longer  period  of  work.  There  is  an  advantage  in 
setting  up  subsidiary  aims  which  will  make  steps  of  progress  in 
the  realization  of  the  larger  purpose. 

Another  distinction  that  it  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  concerns 
the  development  of  intellectual  interests  on  the  part  of  chil- 
dren. The  characteristic  aim  for  a  first-grade  child  may  make 
its  appeal  chiefly  to  his  desire  for  satisfaction,  which  has  Httle 
intellectual  significance ;  but  education  fails  if  it  does  not  make 
for  an  increase  of  interest  in  intellectual  activity.  For  ex- 
ample, a  first-grade  boy  may  be  led  to  count  because  he  wants 
to  be  able  to  tell  how  many  marbles  he  has,  or  how  to  measure 
the  materials  he  uses  in  constructive  work ;  while  the  mathe- 
matician may  work  night  and  day  upon  a  problem  of  mathe- 
matics because  of  a  purely  speculative  interest  in  the  result. 
We  may  not  hope  to  produce  the  great  mathematician  in  the 
elementary  school,  but  we  may  hope  after  a  certain  point  has 
been  reached  in  our  study  of  arithmetic  that  a  boy  will  recog- 
nize the  necessity  for  drill  in  addition  simply  because  he 


56       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

realizes  that  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life  this  knowledge  is 
required. 

Presentation :  The  full  realization  of  the  problem  to  be  solved 
involves  a  consideration  of  data  already  at  hand  in  experience. 
When  we  have  the  problem  clearly  in  mind,  we  examine  this 
experience  more  carefully  to  see  what  bearing  it  may  have 
upon  the  solution,  or  we  gather  further  data,  observe  more 
critically  or  more  extensively,  or  experiment  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  involve  the  solution  of  our  problem.  What  is  the  func- 
tion of  the  teacher  during  this  part  of  the  process  ?  There  is 
no  single  answer  to  this  question.  Sometimes  the  work  of  the 
teacher  will  consist  almost  wholly  in  helping  children  to  recall 
their  past  experience  and  to  apply  it  to  the  question  at  hand. 
At  another  time,  when  experience  is  lacking,  the  teacher  must 
direct  children  to  the  sources  of  data,  guide  them  in  their 
observations  or  experiments,  or  even  give  them  outright  all 
of  the  data  that  she  can  bring  to  bear  on  the  situation.  It  will 
not  always  be  economical  to  wait  foi  children  to  gather  the  data 
for  themselves,  just  as  it  is  not  always  feasible  to  require  them 
to  reach  conclusions  for  themselves.  There  are  times  when 
the  best  teaching  consists  in  demonstration,  and  occasions 
arise  when  the  only  feasible  course  for  the  teacher  is  to  liter- 
ally flood  the  children  with  data  from  which  they  may  draw 
their  conclusions. 

Again  the  problem  of  gathering  data  becomes  the  problem 
of  memory.  We  want  children  to  think,  and  we  should  insist 
that  they  gather  facts  with  reference  to  the  solution  of  some 
problem  ;  but  the  solution  may  not  always  be  immediate.  We 
may  suspend  judgment  while  we  gather  further  facts  and 
organize  them.  The  facts  gathered  for  one  purpose,  when 
rearranged  with  reference  to  a  new  problem,  take  on  a  new- 
meaning.  If  this  be  true,  we  may  not  in  our  zeal  for  clear 
thinking  neglect  the  tools  with  which  we  work.  There  may  be 
some  people  who  have  a  great  many  facts  and  who  reason  little, 
but  no  one  can  reason  without  data.     Our  abihty  to  think 


The  hiductive  Lesson  57 

logically  upon  any  topic  is  conditioned  by  our  ability  to  see 
facts  in  new  relations,  to  reorganize  our  data  with  reference 
to  new  problems ;  but  facts  we  must  have,  and  a  memory 
stored  with  facts  is  one  of  the  greatest  aids  to  thinking. 

One  of  the  means  mentioned  above  for  the  gathering  of  data 
was  observation.  It  is  necessary  that  we  appreciate  the  fact 
that  observation  involves  something  more  than  having  the 
thing  present  to  the  senses.  Our  observations  are  significant 
for  our  thinking  when  we  have  clearly  in  view  the  problem 
which  the  observations  are  to  help  solve.  Teachers  some- 
times make  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  when  children  have 
objects  with  which  to  work  they  have  a  problem.  It  is  not 
unusual  to  hear  teachers  speak  of  objective  work  as  concrete 
work.  Now  the  concreteness  of  a  situation  is  not  at  all  de- 
pendent upon  the  presence  of  objects.  Logically  a  situation 
may  be  concrete,  and  yet  present  no  objects  to  the  senses.  On 
the  other  hand,  objects  may  be  present,  children  may  be 
directed  to  use  them,  and  yet  in  the  absence  of  any  real  prob- 
lem the  work  done  may  be  of  the  most  abstract  sort.  Objects 
help  to  make  a  situation  concrete  when  the  problem  under 
consideration  demands  their  presence,  or  when  they  help  to 
make  clear  the  situation  under  consideration.  For  example, 
children  may  have  peas  or  beans  in  solving  problems  in  addi- 
tion ;  they  serve  to  present  objectively  the  reality  which  is 
symbolized  by  the  teacher  or  pupils  in  their  written  work, 
but  this  does  not  make  the  work  in  addition  concrete.  The 
concreteness  of  these  exercises  will  depend  upon  the  need  which 
children  feel  of  the  ability  to  find  the  sum  of  two  or  more  num- 
bers. The  beans  will  be  significant,  beyond  their  use  as  ob- 
jects, to  illustrate  the  one-to-one  correspondence  between  sym- 
bolic representation  and  reality,  only  if  the  problem  of  summa- 
tion which  at  that  time  engages  their  attention  concerns  the  simi 
of  certain  numbers  of  beans.  Indeed,  it  may  be  claimed  that 
the  use  of  one  set  of  objects  continuously  to  illustrate  a  process 
in  arithmetic  hinders  rather  than  helps  the  child  in  his  ability 


58       A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

to  reason  in  this  situation,  since  he  may  come  to  consider  this 
chance  relationship  of  beans  and  addition  as  essential.  He 
may  think  that  he  ought  always  to  add  when  he  is  given  beans. 
A  good  illustration  of  the  necessity  for  a  well  defined  prob- 
lem for  guidance  when  observations  are  to  be  made  is  found 
in  the  futihty  of  much  work  that  is  done,  or  rather  left  undone, 
when  children  are  taken  on  excursions.  The  directions  which 
follow  for  the  conduct  of  excursions  are  those  which  should 
be  followed  whenever  work  in  observation  is  required,  those 
which  have  reference  to  the  handHng  of  a  large  group  of  chil- 
dren in  the  field  being  added. 

1.  The  teacher  must  have  clearly  defined  in  her  own  mind 
the  purpose  of  the  observation.  If  the  teacher  has  not  defi- 
nitely formulated  the  problem,  the  observation  of  the  chil- 
dren will  surely  be  purposeless. 

2.  It  is  not  enough  that  the  teacher  know  Just  what  data 
she  expects  the  children  to  gather  toward  the  solution  of  a 
particular  problem;  she  must  know  exactly  what  data  are 
available  under  the  conditions  governing  the  observation. 

3.  The  preliminary  work  must  have  prepared  children  for 
their  observations  by  giving  them  very  definite  problems  to 
solve.  Often  it  will  be  advantageous  to  have  these  problems 
written  in  notebooks. 

4.  Children  not  only  need  to  want  to  see,  but  also  need  to 
be  directed  while  they  are  observing.  Nothing  is  easier  than 
to  look  and  not  see  that  which  is  essential. 

5.  It  is  always  advisable  to  test  the  success  of  the  obser- 
vations while  they  are  being  made.  There  is  nothing  more 
difficult  than  to  correct  a  misconception  growing  out  of  care- 
less or  inadequate  observations. 

6.  It  is  well  to  remember  that  not  merely  number  of  ob- 
servations counts  in  the  solution  of  a  problem.  It  is  rather 
observations  under  varying  conditions  which  give  weight  to 
our  conclusions.  One  intensive  observation  may  be  worth 
a  thousand  careless  ones. 


The  Inductive  Lesson  59 

7.  When  children  are  taken  on  excursions,  great  care  must 
be  exercised  to  keep  them  under  proper  guidance  and  control. 
The  organization  of  children  into  smaller  groups  with  leaders 
who  are  made  responsible  for  their  proper  observance  of  direc- 
tions will  help.  These  leaders  should  have  been  over  the 
ground  with  the  teacher  before  the  excursion.  The  assistance 
of  parents,  teachers,  or  of  older  pupils  will  at  times  be  neces- 
sary. 

8.  There  should  be  definite  work  periods  during  the  ex- 
cursion, just  as  in  the  schoolroom  or  laboratory. 

9.  A  whistle,  as  a  signal  for  assembhng  at  one  point,  will 
help  in  out-of-door  work,  provided  it  is  clearly  understood 
that  this  signal  must  be  obeyed  immediately,  and  under  all 
circumstances. 

Comparison  and  abstraction:  With  the  problem  clearly 
defined  and  the  data  provided,  the  next  step  consists  of  com- 
parison and  the  resulting  abstraction  of  the  element  present  in 
all  of  the  cases  which  makes  for  the  solution  of  the  problem. 
In  the  ordinary  course  of  our  thinking  the  sequence  is  as  fol- 
lows :  We  find  ourselves  in  a  situation  which  presents  a  prob- 
lem which  demands  an  adjustment ;  we  make  a  guess  or  for- 
mulate an  hypothesis  which  furnishes  the  basis  for  our  work 
in  attempting  to  solve  the  problem  ;  we  gather  data  in  the  light 
of  the  hypothesis  assumed,  which,  through  comparison  and 
abstraction,  leads  us  to  believe  our  hypothesis  correct  or  false ; 
if  the  hypothesis  seems  justified  by  the  data  gathered,  it  is 
further  tested  or  verified  by  an  appeal  to  experience ;  i.e.  we 
endeavor  to  see  whether  our  conclusion  holds  in  all  cases; 
if  this  test  proves  satisfactory,  we  generalize  or  define ;  and 
lastly  this  generaHzation  or  definition  is  used  as  a  point  of 
reference  or  truth  to  guide  in  later  thinking  or  activity. 

There  is  danger  that  we  may  overlook  the  very  great  im- 
portance of  inference  in  this  process.  We  cannot  say  just 
when  this  step  in  the  process  will  be  possible,  but  it  is  possibly 
the  most  significant  of  all.    A  situation  presents  a  problem. 


6o       A  B^ncf  Course  m  the   Teaching  Process 

Our  success  in  solving  the  problem  depends  upon  our  ability 
to  infer  from  the  facts  at  our  command.  Often  many  inferences 
will  be  necessary  before  we  succeed  in  finding  the  one  that  will 
stand  the  test.  Again  with  the  problem  in  mind  we  may  be 
conscious  of  a  great  lack  of  data  and  may  postpone  our  in- 
ference while  we  collect  the  needed  information.  There  is 
one  fallacy  that  must  be  carefully  guarded  against  in  deahng 
with  children,  as  also  with  adults ;  namely,  the  tendency  once 
the  inference  has  been  made  to  admit  only  such  data  as  are 
found  to  support  this  particular  hypothesis. 

It  is  this  ability  to  infer,  to  formulate  a  workable  hypothesis, 
which  distinguishes  the  genius  from  the  man  of  mediocre  ability . 
It  is  the  abiHty  to  see  facts  in  new  relations,  the  giving  of  new 
meaning  to  facts  which  may  be  the  common  possession  of  all, 
that  characterizes  the  great  thinker.  Other  people  knew  many 
of  the  facts ;  but  it  took  the  mind  of  a  Newton  to  discover 
the  relationship  existing  among  these  data  which  he  formulated 
in  the  law  that  all  bodies  attract  each  other  directly  in  pro- 
portion to  their  weight  and  inversely  in  proportion  to  the  square 
of  the  distance  separating  them.  As  we  teach  children  we 
should  encourage  the  intelligent  guess.  We  would  not,  of 
course,  encourage  mere  random  guessing,  which  may  be  en- 
gaged in  by  children  to  have  something  to  say  or  to  blind  the 
teacher.  A  child  who  offers  a  guess  or  hypothesis  should 
be  asked  to  give  his  ground  for  the  inference,  should  show  that 
his  guess  has  grown  out  of  his  consideration  of  the  data  in 
hand.  It  is  fallacious  to  suppose  that  this  kind  of  thinking 
is  beyond  the  power  of  children.  They  have  been  forming 
their  inferences  and  testing  them  in  action  from  the  time  that 
they  began  to  act  independently. 

There  is  one  element  in  the  consideration  of  the  step  of  com- 
parison which  cannot  be  too  much  emphasized,  and  that  is  that 
it  is  not  the  comparison  of  things  or  situations  which  present 
striking  Hkenesses  which  gives  rise  to  the  highest  type  of  think- 
ing.    To  look  at  a  dozen  horses  and  then  to  conclude  that  all 


The  Inductive  Lesson  6i 

horses  have  four  legs  is  merely  a  matter  of  classification ;  to 
observe  that  the  sun,  chemical  action,  electricity,  and  friction 
produce  heat,  and  to  arrive  at  the  generalization  from  these 
cases,  apparently  so  unlike,  that  heat  is  a  mode  of  motion  is 
the  work  of  a  genius.  In  general,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  we 
would  greatly  strengthen  our  teaching  if  we  were  only  more 
careful  to  see  to  it  that  our  basis  for  generahzation  is  found 
in  situations  presenting  as  many  variations  as  possible.  For 
example,  if  we  want  to  teach  a  principle  in  arithmetic,  the  way 
to  fix  it  and  to  make  it  available  for  further  use  by  our  pupils 
is  not  to  get  a  number  of  problems  all  of  which  are  ahke  in  form 
and  statement ;  but  rather  we  should  seek  as  great  a  variety 
as  is  possible  in  the  language  used  or  symbols  employed  that 
is  compatible  with  the  application  of  the  principle  to  be  taught. 
In  an  interesting  article  on  reasoning  in  primary  arithmetic, 
Professor  Suzzallo  has  pointed  out  the  fact  that  children's 
difficulty  in  reasoning  is  often  one  of  language.^  The  trouble 
has  been  that  teachers  have  always  used  a  set  form,  or  a  very 
few  forms  of  expression,  when  they  described  situations  which 
involved  any  one  of  the  arithmetical  processes.  Later  when 
the  child  is  called  upon  to  solve  a  problem  involving  this 
process  he  does  not  know  which  process  to  apply  because  he  is 
unfamiliar  with  the  form  of  expression  used.  To  succeed  in 
teaching  children  when  to  add  involves  the  presentation  of 
the  situations  which  call  for  addition  with  as  great  a  variation 
as  is  possible,  i.e.  by  using  not  one  form,  but  all  of  the  words 
or  phrases  which  may  be  used  to  indicate  summation.  In  like 
manner  in  other  fields  the  exam.ples  for  comparison  will  be 
valuable  in  proportion  as  they  present  variety  rather  than  uni- 
formity in  those  elements  which  are  not  essential.  Equally 
good  illustration  can  be  had  from  any  other  field.  If  we  want 
pupils  to  get  any  adequate  conception  of  the  function  of  adjec- 
tives, we  should  use  examples  which  involve  a  variety  of  adjec- 
tives in  different  parts  of  sentences.     In  geography  the  concept 

1  Suzzallo,  in  California  Education^  June,  1906. 


62       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

"river"  will  be  clear  only  when  the  different  types  of  rivers 
have  been  considered  and  the  non-essential  elements  disregarded. 

Generalization :  When  we  feel  that  we  have  solved  the  prob- 
lem, we  are  ready  to  state  our  generalization.  There  is  con- 
siderable advantage  in  making  such  a  statement.  One  can 
never  be  quite  sure  that  he  has  solved  his  problem  until  he 
finds  himself  able  to  state  clearly  the  results  of  his  thinking. 
To  attempt  to  define  or  to  generalize  is  often  to  realize  the 
inadequacy  of  our  thought  on  the  problem.  Children  should 
be  encouraged  to  give  their  own  definition  or  generalization 
before  referring  to  that  v/hich  is  provided  by  the  teacher  or  the 
book.  Indeed,  the  significance  of  a  generalization  for  further 
thinking  or  later  action  depends  not  simply  upon  one's  ability 
to  repeat  words,  but  rather  upon  adequate  realization  of  the 
significance  of  the  conclusion  reached.  The  best  test  of  such 
comprehension  is  found  in  the  ability  of  the  pupil  to  state  the 
generalization  for  himself. 

There  is  very  great  danger,  if  definitions  or  generalizations 
are  given  ready-made  to  children,  that  they  will  learn  to 
juggle  with  words.  The  parrot-like  repetition  of  rules  of 
syntax,  or  principles  of  arithmetic,  never  indicates  real  grasp 
of  these  subjects.  Children  think  most  when  the  requirement 
for  thinking  is  greatest,  and  none  are  readier  than  they  to  take 
advantage  of  laxness  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  in  this  respect. 
It  is  not  only  when  the  formal  statement  of  principles  or  defi- 
nitions is  called  for  that  the  teacher  needs  to  be  on  her  guard. 
At  any  stage  of  the  process,  if  the  teacher  will  only  take  their 
words  and  read  meaning  into  them,  some  children  will  be  found 
ready  to  substitute  words  for  thought.  It  is  really  a  mistake 
to  tell  a  child  that  you  know  what  he  means  even  though  he 
did  not  say  it.  Language  is  the  instrument  which  he  employs 
in  thinking,  and,  if  his  statement  lacked  clearness  or  definite- 
ness,  the  chances  are  very  great  that  his  thinking  has  failed 
in  these  same  particulars.  Instead  of  encouraging  children  in 
loose  thinking  by  accepting  any  statement  offered,  it  would 


The  Inductive  Lesson  63 

be  much  better  to  raise  the  question  of  the  real  significance 
of  the  statement,  to  inquire  just  what  was  meant  by  the  word? 
used.  Such  procedure  will  help  to  make  children  more  care- 
ful in  expressing  themselves,  and  will  inevitably  tend  to 
clearer  thinking. 

Application:  Whatever  conclusions  we  have  reached,  what- 
ever truths  we  have  satisfactorily  estabhshed,  influence  us  in 
our  later  thought  and  action.  But  even  though  this  is  true, 
there  is  a  decided  advantage  in  providing  for  a  definite  appli- 
cation of  the  results  of  the  thinking  which  children  have  done 
as  soon  as  possible  and  in  as  many  different  ways  as  is  feasible. 
In  the  first  place,  such  appHcation  makes  clearer  the  truth 
itself,  and  helps  to  fix  it  in  mind.  Again,  the  conclusion  arrived 
at  to-day  is  chiefly  significant  as  a  basis  for  our  thinking  of 
to-morrow,  and  it  is  as  we  apply  our  conclusions  that  new 
problems  arise  to  stimulate  us  to  further  thought.  Then,  too, 
the  satisfaction  which  comes  when  one  feels  his  power  over 
situations  as  a  result  of  thinking  is  the  very  best  possible  stim- 
ulus to  further  intellectual  activity.  Finally,  we  need  to  show 
children  the  application  of  that  which  they  have  learned  to 
the  life  which  they  live  outside  of  the  school.  We  are  not  apt 
to  err  on  the  side  of  too  frequent  or  too  varied  application  of 
the  generalizations  we  have  led  children  to  make.  Rather  we 
shall  have  to  study  diligently  to  provide  enough  applications 
to  fix  for  the  child  the  habit  of  verification  by  an  appeal  to 
experience. 

A  few  words  by  way  of  caution  concerning  the  inductive 
lesson  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

First :  Not  all  school  work  can  be  undertaken  on  this  general 
plan.  There  are  times  when  the  end  to  be  accomplished  is 
distinctly  not  the  discovery  of  some  new  truth,  but  rather 
the  fixing  of  some  habit.  There  are  exercises  which  are  dis- 
tinctively deductive,  some  which  aim  to  produce  habits,  and 
others  which  seek  to  secure  appreciation.  But  more  of  this 
is  in  the  succeeding  chapters. 


64       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

Second:  Even  when  we  seek  to  establish  truth,  we  cannot 
ahvays  develop  it  by  an  appeal  to  the  experience  of  children 
nor  to  observations  which  they  can  make.  We  shall  have,  on 
some  occasions,  to  supply  the  data,  and  in  still  other  cases  it 
will  be  most  economical  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the  posi- 
tion which  we  desire  to  have  them  take.  There  are  occasions 
when  the  solution  of  the  problem  is  not  possible  for  children. 
In  this  last  instance  we  shall  have  to  provide  the  authoritative 
statement.  Indeed,  it  may  be  argued  that  one  of  the  lessons 
which  we  all  need  to  learn  is  respect  for  the  expert.  We  can- 
not settle  all  of  the  problems  which  arise,  but  we  may  choose 
from  among  those  who  profess  to  have  found  a  solution.  Our 
education  ought  to  help  us  to  avoid  the  quack  and  the  charla- 
tan. The  habit  of  logical  thinking  on  the  part  of  children, 
and  expert  knowledge  in  some  field,  however  small,  is  the  only 
protection  which  the  school  can  give  against  the  pretensions 
of  those  who  represent  themselves  as  the  dispensers  of  truth. ^ 

Third:  There  is  a  grave  danger  that  we  may  help  children 
too  much.  Some  teachers  interpret  the  inductive  development 
lesson  to  mean  that  each  step  in  the  thinking  required  must 
be  carefully  prepared  for  and  quickly  passed.  They  consider 
that  they  have  taught  the  best  lesson  when  there  has  been  no 
hitch  in  the  progress  from  the  statement  of  aim  to  the  wording 
of  the  generalization.  The  suggestive  question  which  makes 
thinking  on  the  part  of  children  unnecessary  is  a  favorite 
measure  employed.  If  we  stop  to  consider  what  thinking 
means,  we  cannot  fail  to  see  the  fallacy  of  such  work.  We  all 
do  our  best  thinking,  not  when  the  problem  to  be  solved  is 
explained  by  some  one  else  and  all  of  the  difficulties  removed, 
but  rather  when  we  find  the  problem  most  difficult  of  solution. 

If  children  are  at  work  on  problems  which  are  vital  to  them, 
we  may  expect  them  to  continue  to  work  even  though  they 
make  mistakes.     Indeed,  the  best  recitation  may  be  the  one 

*  For  a  full  discussion  of  this  point,  see  Eliot,  Edticational  Reform,  trie  essay 
on  "The  Function  of  Education  in  a  Democratic  Society." 


The  Inductive  Lesson  65 

that  leaves  the  children  not  with  a  solution  skillfully  supplied 
for  them  by  the  teacher,  but  rather  with  a  keen  realization  of 
the  problem,  and  with  a  somewhat  clearer  idea  of  the  direction 
in  which  the  solution  may  be  sought.  It  is  the  teacher's  work 
to  help  the  child  to  see  the  problem,  and,  seeing  the  problem 
herself  from  the  child's  point  of  view,  to  stimulate  the  child  to 
his  best  effort.  The  teacher  must  know  not  only  the  pupil's 
attitude  of  mind  toward  the  problem  and  how  his  mind  is  most 
likely  to  react,  but  also  the  mental  activity  required  to  master 
properly  the  issue  that  has  been  raised.  On  the  one  hand,  the 
teacher's  equipment  consists  of  a  knowledge  of  the  minds  of  the 
children  whom  she  teaches,  and  on  the  other  a  knowledge  of  the 
subject  to  be  taught,  not  simply  as  a  body  of  knowledge  more  or 
less  classified  or  organized,  but  as  a  mode  of  mental  growth.^ 
What  the  teacher  needs  is  a  clear  realization  of  the  difhculties 
which  the  pupils  must  meet,  and  the  way  in  which  childish 
minds  may  best  overcome  these  obstacles.  When  such  sym- 
pathy exists  between  teacher  and  pupil,  we  may  expect  that 
pupils  will  constantly  grow  stronger  in  their  abihty  to  think 
logically,  instead  of  becoming  more  and  more  dependent 
upon  the  teacher.  And  this  is  our  great  work  as  teachers,  to 
render  our  services  unnecessary. 

Fourth:  No  teacher  should  attempt  to  outline  her  work  on 
the  basis  of  the  steps  indicated  in  the  discussion  of  the  induc- 
tive method  without  a  clear  realization  of  the  fact  that  these 
steps  cannot  be  sharply  differentiated,  that  they  are  not  mutu- 
ally exclusive.  To  define  a  problem  adequately  may  mean  that 
we  have  passed  through  the  whole  process.  At  any  step  in  the 
process  after  the  problem  is  defined,  and  some  hypothesis 
formed,  we  may  wish  to  verify  our  guess  by  an  appeal  to  known 
facts,  and  often  we  shall  find  it  necessary  to  abandon  the 
hypothesis  already  formed  and  provide  another  as  a  basis  for 

^  See  Dewey,  "The  Relation  of  Theory  to  Practice  in  the  Education  of 
Teachers,"  The  Third  Year  Book  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Scientific  Study 
of  Education. 


66       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

further  thinking.  It  is  true  that  the  natural  movement  of  the 
mind  is  roughly  indicated  by  the  steps  named ;  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  no  mind  can  possibly  arrive  at  the  solution  of 
a  real  problem  by  adhering  to  a  fixed  order  of  procedure.  We 
do  not  by  our  teaching  create  the  power  of  logical  thought ; 
we  rather  guide  a  mind  that  naturally  operates  logically.  We 
can  never  teach  children  to  reason,  but  we  can  provide  the 
occasion  for  logical  thinking,  and  can  guard  against  the  com- 
mon fallacies.  Our  success  will  depend  upon  a  clear  realiza- 
tion of  the  possibilities  of  the  child  mind  and  of  the  subjects 
we  teach  as  part  of  their  growth  and  development. 

Teaching  by  Types :  Teaching  by  means  of  types  is  sometimes 
discussed  as  a  separate  method,  while  in  reality  it  is  simply  one 
form  of  the  inductive  process.  As  was  indicated  in  our  dis- 
cussion of  observation  above,  there  are  times  when  the  con- 
sideration of  a  single  situation  or  object  in  detail  may  be  worth 
more  than  a  thousand  careless  observations.  It  is  especially 
true  that  a  thoroughly  adequate  knowledge  of  one  object  or 
case  of  a  class  prepares  in  the  best  possible  way  for  future 
observations  of  members  of  the  same  class.  Familiarity  with 
the  life  history  of  one  animal  or  plant  will  help  us  greatly  to 
understand  other  animals  and  plants,  because  that  which  is 
most  essential  in  all  has  been  carefully  observed  in  the  case 
considered.  Now  let  us  suppose  that  several  plants  and  animals 
have  been  studied.  If  the  cases  which  are  considered  are  truly 
typical,  it  may  be  possible  for  the  student  to  appreciate  not 
simply  the  individuals  belonging  to  the  classes  studied,  but 
also  something  of  the  interrelation  of  the  several  classes.  This 
illustration,  given  because  it  represents  in  a  general  way 
something  of  the  method  followed  in  the  study  of  science, 
represents  a  very  common  method  of  procedure  in  the  ordinary 
affairs  of  life.  None  of  us  can  hope  to  support  our  conclusions 
by  a  careful  scrutiny  of  all  possible  cases.  We  take  something 
on  authority;  namely,  that  the  individual  case  considered  is 
representative  of  a  large  group,  then  after  we  have  investigated 


The  Inductive  Lesson  67 

the  one  case  we  apply  our  conclusions  to  the  whole  group.  Of 
course  there  is  one  great  danger.  We  may  be  overhasty  in 
our  generalizations.  No  fallacy  is  more  common  than  the 
emphasis  placed  upon  non-essentials  by  those  whose  observa- 
tions have  been  limited.  The  stories  of  the  traveler  who 
generalizes,  after  seeing  one  red-headed  child  or  after  eating  at 
one  hotel,  concerning  the  children  and  hotels  of  the  country 
visited,  are  too  common  to  need  repetition  here.  Where  ob- 
servations are  necessarily  limited,  the  important  consideration 
is  to  get  cases  that  seem  as  different  as  possible  in  order  that 
that  which  is  essential  may  be  differentiated  from  the  non- 
essential or  accidental. 

Teaching  by  types  in  our  ordinary  school  work  has  been 
applied  most  frequently  to  the  subject  of  geography.  Apply- 
ing the  principle  stated  above,  we  shall  be  careful  in  teaching 
rivers,  mountains,  cities,  com.merce,  or  any  other  geographical 
notion  to  see  to  it  that  the  individual  cases  considered  are  as 
widely  different  as  possible.  To  teach  New  York  City,  Phila- 
delphia, and  Chicago  only  would  give  children  a  very  erroneous 
idea  of  the  concept  "city."  They  are  all  exceptionally  large, 
all  American,  all  modern.  There  are  cities  smaller,  with 
peculiarities  due  to  age,  to  location,  and  to  the  ideas  and  re- 
sources of  the  people  building  them.  A  better  selection  would 
be  New  York  City,  London,  Tokyo,  Venice,  Cairo,  and  Munich. 
Objection  could  still  very  well  be  offered  that  this  list  is  too 
short  to  include  all  classes.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  to 
have  taught  any  city  carefully  will  aid  greatly  in  understanding 
the  notion  "city"  and  in  appreciating  other  cities,  but  mani- 
festly any  final  generalization  concerning  cities  must  wait  until 
our  knowledge  of  geography  has  been  widely  extended.  The 
same  conclusion  would  be  reached  were  any  other  notion  of 
geography,  or  any  other  study,  subjected  to  the  same  test. 
There  is,  however,  no  harm  in  forming  tentative  judgments. 
Indeed,  we  must  all  do  this  every  day  of  our  lives.  The  main 
issue  is  to  see  to  it  that  there  is  no  mistake  as  to  the  tentative 


68       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

character  of  the  conclusions  reached,  that  the  open-minded 
attitude  be  preserved. 

For  Collateral  Reading 

C.  A.  and  F.  M.  McMurry,  The  Method  of  the  Recitation,  Chapters  VI 
to  IX  inclusive. 
John  Dewey,  How  We  Thiftk,  Chapters  XII  to  XV  inclusive. 

Exercises. 

1.  What  is  the  purpose  of  the  step  of  preparation  in  the  inductive 
lesson?  When  would  you  begin  an  inductive  lesson  with  a  statement 
of  aim  or  problem  ?  What  value  is  there  in  having  children  state  the 
aim  of  a  lesson  ?     When  during  the  lesson  should  the  aim  be  referred  to  ? 

2.  How  would  you  hope  to  have  country  children  get  a  clear  idea  of  a 
city?  Could  you  develop  this  idea  with  sufficient  definiteness  by  ask- 
ing questions  ? 

3.  W^hat  preparation  would  you  think  necessary  for  a  class  that  were 
taking  their  first  trip  to  a  dairy  ? 

4.  What  was  wrong  in  the  class  where,  after  a  trip  to  the  country,  a 
small  child  said,  "A  cow  is  a  small  animal  with  four  legs  that  likes  to  live 
in  the  mud  and  grunt"? 

5.  Would  you  allow  a  boy  to  perform  an  experiment  in  nature  study 
that  you  knew  would  result  unsatisfactorily? 

6.  A  teacher  used  the  following  sentences  in  her  attempt  to  teach  the 
function  of  an  adjective ;  criticize  the  Hst  given. 

The  red  apple  is  sweet. 
The  green  grass  is  soft. 
The  yellow  house  is  large. 
The  tall  man  is  sick. 
The  largest  horse  is  fast. 

Suggest  a  better  list  of  sentences  for  the  purpose  indicated. 

7.  In  what  sense  is  it  true  that  an  induction  begins  with  a  generali- 
zation ?  How  do  you  proceed  when  you  modify  a  generalization  which 
you  once  held  as  true  ? 

8.  A  pupil  defined  a  river  as  a  stream  of  water  flowing  through  the 
land.  How  would  you  hope  to  secure  a  more  accurate  generalization 
from  him? 

9.  WTiat  is  the  function  of  a  lecture  on  Germany  to  a  group  of  chil- 
dren studying  the  geography  of  Europe  ?     Do  you  think  such  a  lecture 


The  Inductive  Lesson  69 

would  be  as  valuable  as  a  lesson  in  which  the  pupils  are  asked  to  find 
out  why  German  commerce  has  developed  so  rapidly  during  the  past 
twenty  years? 

10.  Under  what  conditions  would  you  require  children  to  commit  to 
memory  the  definitions  found  in  their  textbooks  ? 

11.  If  your  pupils  were  reading  KipHng's  Jungle  Book,  would  you 
try  to  make  your  lessons  inductive  ? 

12.  What  difficulties  would  you  encounter  in  trying  to  teach  children 
who  Hve  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  the  meaning  of  the  term  mountain? 
How  could  you  hope  to  overcome  these  difficulties  ? 

13.  The  following  illustrative  problems  were  used  by  a  teacher  who 
was  presenting  the  subject  of  percentage  to  a  class  for  the  first  time. 
Can  you  improve  the  list  ? 

A  man  who  had  $10,000  lost  25  per  cent  of  his  money.  How  much 
did  he  lose  ? 

A  horse  which  cost  $250  was  sold  at  a  loss  of  10  per  cent.  How  much 
did  the  owner  lose  ? 

A  house  which  cost  $25,000  was  burned.  It  was  insured  for  50  per 
cent  of  its  value.  How  much  did  the  owner  receive  from  the  insurance 
company  ? 

A  suit  of  clothes  which  cost  the  dealer  $18  was  sold  at  a  gain  of  25 
per  cent.     How  much  did  the  dealer  gain  on  the  suit  ? 

14.  Which  would  be  better,  to  tell  a  group  of  children  of  a  trip  which 
you  took  to  a  cattle  ranch,  show  them  pictures,  and  possibly  read  a 
description  of  ranch  life,  or  spend  the  same  amount  of  time  questioning 
these  same  children  in  the  hope  of  developing  some  adequate  idea  of 
this  type  of  life  ?  If  you  follow  the  first  method,  could  you  be  sure  that 
children  had  derived  accurate  ideas  from  your  description  ? 

15.  Write  a  series  of  questions  which  you  would  use  in  developing 
the  generalization,  "Men  who  live  in  cities  are  dependent  upon  those 
who  live  in  the  country  for  the  necessities  of  life." 

16.  How  would  you  defend  the  following  statement:  It  is  more  im- 
portant that  a  pupil  should  have  worked  out  the  solution  of  a  singe 
problem  in  which  he  is  interested,  than  that  he  should  have  learned, 
without  solving  the  problems  for  himself,  the  answers  to  a  dozen  prob- 
lems from  books  which  he  is  asked  to  read. 

17.  Why  do  most  lessons  in  which  pupils  recite  from  the  material 
assigned  in  textbooks  require  little  thinking?  How  can  such  lessons 
be  made  to  stimulate  thinking  ? 

18.  Would  you  ever  allow  children  to  accept  an  incomplete  generali- 
zation as  a  result  of  their  own  experience  and  thought?  An  incorrect 
generalization  ? 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   DEDUCTIVE   LESSON 

The  complete  process  of  thought  involves  both  induction 
and  deduction.  Every  general  principle,  unless  it  is  self-evi- 
dent, must  either  be  arrived  at  through  the  process  of  induc- 
tion, or  be  accepted  without  any  attempt  at  verification. 
Having  formed  our  generahzations,  we  use  them  as  a  basis  for 
further  thinking.  If  we  find  that  the  principle  always  holds, 
we  are  satisfied  with  its  vahdity.  In  this  testing  of  the  gener- 
ahzation  tentatively  made,  the  process  of  thought  is  deductive. 
The  fact  is  that  in  the  process  which  we  designate  as  induction, 
deduction  enters  to  verify  our  inference.  In  the  face  of  the 
problem  which  can  be  settled  only  by  reference  to  some  estab- 
lished principle,  we  find  ourselves  questioning  the  generaliza- 
tions formerly  accepted,  and  the  process  of  thought  in  solving 
our  problem  will  involve  induction  as  well  as  deduction.  For 
convenience  we  treat  the  problems  of  teaching  under  the  two 
heads,  the  inductive  and  the  deductive  lesson,  according  as 
one  or  the  other  type  of  thought  seems  to  predominate  in 
reasoning  required  to  solve  the  problem  involved. 

Every  one  thinks  deductively  who  has  had  sufficient  expe- 
rience to  form  any  generalizations.  In  the  early  life  of  the 
child  we  find  the  psychological  basis  for  deduction  in  the  ten- 
dency to  act  in  accordance  with  ideas.  Children  define  things 
in  terms  of  their  function.  Thus  a  hat  is  something  to  wear 
on  the  head;  a  drawer  something  to  pull  out  and  push  in; 
a  shovel  something  to  move  the  sand  with ;  and  so  for  the  other 
objects  in  the  child  world.  A  child  makes  a  dog  in  clay,  draws 
a  picture  of  a  flower,  makes  a  house  of  his  blocks  —  and  in  this 
way  tests  his  ideas.     Not  all  deductive  thinking  ends  in  motor 

70 


The  Deductive  Lesson  71 

activity ;  but  we  can  never  be  satisfied  with  our  deductions 
until  we  have  estabUshed  them  experimentally.  The  question 
concerning  our  ideas  always  is,  will  they  work  ? 

Whenever  we  offer  an  explanation  of  our  ideas  or  of  our 
actions,  the  process  of  thought  is  deductive.  Not  that  either 
adults  or  children  often  state  the  general  principle  upon  which 
they  base  their  statement  or  action.  We  are  all  only  too  prone 
to  assume  the  general  principle.  The  foohsh  answers  which 
children  give  may  be  logical  enough.  From  his  very  Hmited 
experience  a  boy  may  have  generalized  that  grass  is  something 
to  look  at  and  not  to  be  vs^alked  on,  and  that  people  always  live 
in  houses  from  four  to  ten  stories  high,  with  many  families 
in  a  house.  Now,  if  such  erroneous  generalizations  have  been 
developed,  the  way  to  handle  the  boy  is  not  to  laugh  at  his  de- 
ductions from  these  premises,  but  rather  to  require  him  to  state 
the  generalizations  upon  which  he  has  based  his  thinking,  and 
to  lead  him  to  discover  their  inadequacy.  It  matters  not  what 
group  of  children  one  works  with,  this  same  need  for  a  declara- 
tion of  the  principle  upon  which  the  argument  is  based,  the 
generalization  which  covers  the  situation  under  consideration, 
will  be  found  essential.  That  teacher  does  much  for  the  chil- 
dren who  frequently  pushes  them  back  to  a  statement  of  what 
they  assume  to  be  true.  This  statement  is  not  always  easy 
to  make.  Even  with  adults  it  is  very  common  to  explain  action 
by  reference  to  some  feeling  or  attitude  which  it  is  assumed  has 
some  basis  in  reason.  Some  instinctive  tendency,  or  a  mode  of 
feeling,  thinking,  or  acting  which  has  become  habitual,  fre- 
quently explains,  but  fails  to  justify  our  actions.  The  ability 
to  state  clearly  what  one  assumes,  and  to  claim  as  valid  only 
such  conclusions  as  are  based  on  premises  which  are  admitted 
to  be  true,  is  the  mark  of  the  man  of  unusual  rationality. 

There  is  no  set  of  rules  which  a  teacher  may  follow  in  order 
to  make  the  children  she  teaches  logically  minded.  On  the 
other  hand,  all  of  her  activity  tends  in  some  degree  to  encourage 
or  to  eliminate  the  logical  habit  of  mind.     The  teacher  who 


72       A  Brief  Course  i7i  the  Teaching  Process 

dogmatizes  continually  in  her  teaching  can  do  little  to  over- 
come a  like  tendency  in  the  children  by  conducting  exercises 
logically  correct.  The  wrong  emphasis  on  correctness  of  the 
result,  instead  of  correctness  of  the  method  employed  in  getting 
the  result,  encourages  much  illogical  work  and  develops  care- 
less habits  of  thought.  And  it  is  just  as  true  that  an  open- 
minded  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  will  be  reflected 
in  the  children.  The  teacher  who  insists  upon  the  verification 
of  generalizations,  who  asks  children  frequently  to  give  the 
ground  for  the  statements  which  they  make,  and  who  encourages 
reflection,  will  engender  logical  habits  of  thought. 

To  recognize  the  wide  application  of  the  deductive  method  in 
our  thinking,  one  has  only  to  consider  what  is  meant  by  reflec- 
tion. It  is  well  also  in  this  connection  to  remember  that  the 
habit  of  reflection  distinguishes  the  educated  from  the  unedu- 
cated man.  It  is  not  the  number  of  experiences  which  m.akes 
the  difference  between  mien,  but  rather  the  use  that  has  been 
made  of  those  experiences.  When  we  reflect,  we  think  over, 
organize,  and  relate  our  past  experiences.  Suppose,  for  ex- 
ample, that  some  one  makes  the  statement  that  corporal  pun- 
ishment should  be  banished  from  all  schools.  If  you  reflect 
upon  such  a  thesis,  you  bring  to  bear  your  experiences,  whether 
of  action,  observation,  or  thought  stimulated  by  reading  what 
some  one  else  has  said ;  and,  as  a  result  of  your  thinking,  you 
consciously  or  unconsciously  assume  a  general  principle  under 
which  you  feel  satisfied  that  this  question  of  discipline  falls ; 
and  then  you  will  refer  all  of  your  experiences  to  this  principle, 
testing  its  validity  by  seeing  whether  or  not  it  does  uniformly 
hold.  The  process  of  thinking  which  you  have  employed  is 
essentially  deductive.  If  stated  in  the  form  of  a  syllogism,  it 
might  be  expressed  somewhat  as  follows :  — 

1.  Any  action  which  tends  to  brutalize  either  pupil  or  teacher 
should  not  be  permitted  in  any  school. 

2.  Corporal  punishment  tends  to  brutalize  both  teacher  and 
pupil. 


The  Deductive  Lessoji  73 

3.  Hence  corporal  punishment  should  be  banished  from  all 
schools. 

The  process  of  thought  employed  has  led  you  to  search  for  a 
general  principle  which  you  accept  as  true  and  which  offers  an 
explanation  of  the  position  which  you  take  in  agreeing  that 
corporal  punishment  should  be  banished.  If  you  are  really 
reflecting,  you  will  not  stop  with  this  reference  to  a  generalization 
apparently  true.  Rather  you  will  inquire  whether  in  your 
experience  the  infliction  of  corporal  punishment  has  tended  to 
brutalize  you.  You  will  also  ask  yourself  whether  this  is  true 
of  others,  and  to  what  degree.  You  will  recall  specific  cases  of 
punishment  of  this  sort,  and  will  try  to  decide  whether  the  dis- 
advantages or  evil  outweighed  the  good.  Only  after  such  care- 
ful thought  is  the  process  of  reflection  complete,  and  it  is  only 
then  that  you  can  feel  satisfied  of  the  soundness  of  the  position 
which  you  have  taken.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  process  of 
thought  has  been  both  inductive  and  deductive. 

If  children  are  to  learn  to  reflect,  they  must  have  leisure  to 
think  over  their  past  experiences.  There  is  danger  that  in  our 
desire  for  more  knowledge  and  more  activity  on  the  part  of 
our  pupils,  we  may  give  them  little  time  for  reflection.  To  ask 
a  child  to  state  the  significance  of  what  he  has  done,  to  encour- 
age him  to  examine  every  assumed  truth  in  the  light  of  his 
experience,  and  to  state  somewhat  formally  the  result  of  his 
reflection  is  worth  much  more  than  the  new  experiences  which 
might  have  been  gained  in  the  same  length  of  time.  The  habit 
of  reflection  will  be  developed  only  when  sufficient  time  is 
given  for  children  to  stop  and  take  account  of  the  experience 
which  they  have  had,  when  respect  is  accorded  the  experiences 
of  the  individual,  and  when  the  teacher  requires  such  work  and 
guides  children  in  the  process. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  in  the  preceding  pages  to  indicate 
in  a  general  way  the  significance  of  the  deductive  method  in 
our  school  work.  It  remains  to  indicate  briefly  the  method  of 
procedure  in  the  conduct  of  class  exercises  which  are  essentially 


74       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

deductive  in  their  nature.  Such  exercises  will  be  found  in  any 
subject  in  which  there  is  developed  a  body  of  general  principles. 
For  example,  the  real  test  of  a  pupil's  knowledge  of  a  principle 
of  arithmetic  is  found,  not  in  familiarity  with  the  process  of 
induction  by  which  the  principle  is  derived,  nor  in  his  ability 
to  apply  this  principle  to  the  problems  given  in  the  book,  imme- 
diately following  the  rule,  all  of  which  fit  the  generalization,  but 
rather  in  his  ability,  when  a  miscellaneous  list  of  problems  is 
given,  to  pick  out  the  principle  which  applies  to  this  one  case. 
The  test  of  one's  knowledge  of  geography  is  found  not  simply 
in  the  facts  which  he  knows,  but  also  in  his  ability  to  explain 
phenomena  or  to  anticipate  situations  by  reference  to  a  body 
of  general  principles. 

The  problem:  From  what  has  already  been  said  it  is  clear 
that  in  deductive  thinking,  as  well  as  when  the  process  is  induc- 
tive, the  occasion  for  thought  is  found  in  a  problem  to  be  solved. 
We  wish  to  know  why  a  certain  region  is  arid  or  what  the  possi- 
bilities of  agriculture  are  in  another,  and  we,  therefore,  recall  our 
knowledge  of  the  principles  of  geography  in  order  to  solve  our 
problem.  A  moral  situation  confronts  us  ;  we  need  to  act ;  and 
in  response  to  this  necessity  we  endeavor  to  refer  the  situation 
to  some  norm  or  standard  of  conduct  which  we  accept  as  fun- 
damental. The  success  of  our  work  in  securing  clear  thinking 
by  children  will  always  be  conditioned  by  our  success  in  enabling 
them  to  realize  the  significance  of  the  problem  presented  for 
solution. 

Finding  the  generalization  or  principles  which  fit  the  situa- 
tion to  be  accounted  for  or  explained  is  the  next  step.  In  order 
to  accomplish  this  part  of  the  process  successfully  one  must  be 
able  to  discover  that  which  is  essential  and  to  neglect  the  non- 
essential in  the  problem  to  be  solved.  Suppose,  for  example,  that 
the  problem  is :  Why  has  the  greater  part  of  Africa  not  been 
settled  by  civilized  men  ?  The  factor  which  is  significant  is  the 
climate  of  this  region,  and  it  will  be  of  no  use  for  the  pupil  to 
recall  the  size  of  the  continent,  the  color  of  its  inhabitants,  the 


The  Deductive  Lesson  75 

fact  that  Livingstone  made  a  journey  across  it,  except  that  by 
eliminating  these  facts  he  may  be  brought  to  realize  that  none 
of  them  determine  the  situation,  and  hence  he  need  no  longer 
pay  any  attention  to  them.  It  is  the  function  of  the  teacher 
to  suggest  to  the  pupil  a  number  of  alternatives  and  then  to 
guide  him  in  his  search  for  the  determining  factor.  For 
example,  the  teacher  might  ask :  Is  it  because  of  the  savage 
inhabitants,  because  of  a  lack  of  means  of  transportation,  be- 
cause the  country  is  overrun  by  dangerous  wild  animals,  or  be- 
cause of  climate  ?  Each  of  these  classes  of  facts  may  be  known 
to  the  pupils,  and  each  in  turn  may  be  eliminated  as  non-de- 
termining factors  until  he  comes  finally  to  the  last.  He  must 
then,  provided  he  decides  that  climate  may  determine  the 
availability  of  a  region  as  a  habitation  for  civilized  man,  dis- 
cover under  what  condition  of  climate  civilized  man  fails  to 
make  advance.  He  has  thus  fitted  his  situation,  his  problem, 
to  the  generalization  under  which  it  falls,  and  has,  in  fact,  taken 
the  next  step  in  the  process. 

Inference:  The  inference  that  the  greater  part  of  Africa  is 
not  inhabited  by  civilized  men  because  of  adverse  climatic 
conditions  is  arrived  at  just  as  soon  as  the  pupil  settles  upon 
climate  as  the  essential  factor.  Just  as  in  the  inductive 
process  we  pass  immediately  from  the  step  of  comparison  and 
abstraction  to  the  statement  of  the  generalization,  so  in  the 
deductive  lesson,  when  once  we  have  related  the  particular  case 
under  consideration  to  the  principle  which  explains  the  situa- 
tion, we  are  ready  to  state  our  inference.  There  is  real  value 
in  making  such  a  statement.  The  further  process  of  verifica- 
tion depends  upon  a  clear  and  definite  statement  of  the  infer- 
ence ;  and  the  best  test  we  have  of  the  completion  of  the  pre- 
ceding step  is  the  ability  which  the  pupil  shows  to  state  his 
inference. 

Verification:  When  the  inference  has  been  made,  we  have 
yet  to  satisfy  ourselves  concerning  the  validity  of  our  reason- 
ing by  an  appeal  to  known  facts.     Following  the  illustration 


76       A  Brief  Course  hi  the   Teaching  Process 

already  used,  we  should  ask  ourselves  what  has  happened  in  the 
past  to  civilized  men  who  have  gone  to  Central  Africa.  We  will 
be  satisfied  that  our  reasoning  has  been  correct,  only  if  all  of  the 
facts  we  are  able  to  discover  point  unmistakably  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  chmate  of  the  larger  part  of  Africa  is  unendur- 
able by  civilized  men. 

The  element  which  needs  most  emphasis  in  deductive  teach- 
ing is  the  realization  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  that  the  success 
of  the  process  is  directly  proportional  to  the  independence  with 
which  the  pupil  discovers  for  himself  that  which  is  essential  in 
the  situation  under  consideration,  his  attempt  to  fit  or  relate 
the  particular  case  to  the  principle  or  generalization  by  which 
it  will  be  explained,  and  his  willingness,  when  he  discovers  his 
error  by  an  attempted  verification,  to  repeat  the  process.  We 
do  not  think  logically  by  having  some  one  else  do  our  thinking 
for  us,  nor  is  our  growth  measured  by  the  uniformity  wdth  which 
we  hit  upon  the  correct  solution  of  the  problem  at  the  first 
attempt.  Rather  we  may  measure  success  by  the  pov/er  of  our 
pupils  to  criticize  the  reasoning  which  appears  plausible  until 
carefully  scrutinized,  and  by  their  readiness  to  retrace  their 
steps  and  to  search  for  firmer  ground  when  they  have  of  their 
own  accord  given  up  a  scheme  of  reasoning  which  has  proved 
invalid. 


For  Collateral  Reading 

W.  C.  Bagley,  The  Educative  Process,  Chapter  XX. 

I.  E.  MiUer,  The  Psychology  of  Thinking,  Chapter  XVIII. 

Exercises. 

1.  A  class  is  engaged  in  deriving  inductively  the  generalization  that 
multiplying  the  numerator  of  a  fraction  by  any  number  multiplies  the 
fraction  by  that  number ;  will  there  be  any  occasion  for  deductive  think- 
ing as  the  work  proceeds  ? 

2.  A  history  teacher  has  tried  to  develop  the  generalization  that 
taxation  without  representation  is  tyranny.     A  girl  in  the  class  says 


TJie  Deductive  Lesson  *]"] 

that  this  proves  that  women  should  have  the  right  to  vote.  Analyze 
the  process  of  thought  by  which  the  girl  arrived  at  her  conclusion.  Was 
the  process  essentially  inductive  or  deductive  ? 

3.  Some  people  pride  themselves  upon  the  fact  that  they  never  change 
their  minds.  What  comment  would  you  feel  justified  in  making  con- 
cerning their  processes  of  thought  ? 

4.  Why  can  the  leader  of  a  mob  influence  his  followers  to  most  un- 
reasonable action  ? 

5.  An  eighth-grade  boy  remarked  that  he  thought  that  we  should 
forbid  all  foreigners  to  come  to  the  United  States.  How  would  you 
lead  such  a  boy  to  change  his  point  of  view  by  means  of  his  own  thought 
on  the  subject  ? 

5.  A  class  in  grammar  was  required  to  commit  to  memory  fifty  rules 
of  syntax  and  later  to  correct  sentences  in  which  the  mistakes  in  syntax 
were  covered  by  the  rules  already  learned.  Could  you  suggest  a  better 
way  to  teach  EngHsh  syntax  ? 

7.  What  is  the  value  of  the  miscellaneous  problems  given  at  the  end 
of  each  section  of  the  arithmetic  ?  A  teacher  of  arithmetic  went  through 
one  of  these  Hsts  and  had  the  class  indicate  opposite  each  problem  the 
case,  or  rule,  which  was  involved.     Was  this  a  good  thing  to  do  ? 

8.  What  sort  of  reasoning  is  demanded  of  a  class  in  parsing  ? 

9.  Do  you  consider  your  teaching  of  arithmetic,  in  so  far  as  it  involves 
reasoning,  mainly  inductive  or  deductive  ? 

10.  In  what  sense  is  it  true  that  in  deduction  we  begin  with  a  par- 
ticular rather  than  with  a  generalization  ?  Compare  the  significance  of 
the  problem  in  induction  and  deduction. 

11.  In  some  textbooks  in  geometry,  the  problem  is  stated,  and  then 
the  proof  is  presented  step  by  step  with  a  reference  wherever  need  be 
to  the  principles  involved  in  developing  the  proof;  what  is  the  weak- 
ness of  this  sort  of  an  exercise  ? 

12.  How  can  the  teacher  best  help  children  who  are  unable  to  refer  a 
problem  in  arithmetic  to  any  one  of  the  principles  which  have  been 
learned  ? 

13.  Children  often  make  mistakes  in  reasoning  which  seem  ridiculous 
to  teachers;   how  can  teachers  be  most  helpful  in  such  situations? 

14.  Do  you  think  it  possible  to  teach  children  the  meaning  and  sig- 
nificance of  reflection  ?     How  would  you  attempt  to  secure  such  insight  ? 

15.  Why  would  it  be  valuable  for  us  many  times  to  write  the  reasons 
for  our  action  before  carrying  into  effect  our  plans  ? 

16.  What  can  you  do  as  a  teacher  that  will  stimulate  children  to  do 
their  best  thinking?  Is  it  possible  that  you  may  actually  interfere  or 
discourage  them  in  this  part  of  their  work  ?     How  ? 


CHAPTER  VII 

LESSON  FOR  APPRECIATION 

Education  aims  not  only  to  enable  one  to  avoid  error,  to 
discover  truth,  and  to  equip  him  with  desirable  habits,  but  also 
to  develop  the  power  to  appreciate  and  to  enjoy  that  which  is 
beautiful,  whether  in  hterature,  painting,  sculpture,  art,  or 
music.  It  is  not  enough  that  a  man  be  able  to  make  a  living ; 
he  ought,  as  a  result  of  his  education,  to  be  able  to  enjoy  life. 
Matthew  Arnold's  definition  of  culture,  ''the  acquainting  our- 
selves with  the  best  that  has  been  known  and  said  in  the 
world,"  embodies  much  that  is  essential  in  modern  education. 
The  ability  to  enjoy  a  drama  of  Shakespeare,  a  picture  of 
Millet,  or  an  opera  of  Wagner,  means  the  possibility  of  noble 
pleasure,  of  leisure  time  spent  in  such  a  way  that  inspiration 
and  strength,  instead  of  possible  waste,  or,  even  worse,  degra- 
dation and  weakness,  result.  It  is,  then,  a  vital  part  of  our 
school  work  to  give  opportunity  for  and  to  encourage  in  every 
way  possible  the  development  of  power  of  appreciation. 

Some  of  our  schoolroom  exercises  ought  to  aim  primarily 
to  develop  power  of  appreciation  in  the  several  fields  men- 
tioned above.  Not  that  appreciation  can  be  taught  directly, 
but  because  there  are  conditions  which  are  negative  in  their 
influence.  No  one  will  ever  learn  to  appreciate  music  or  liter- 
ature or  art  because  some  one  tells  him  that  he  ought  and  that 
this  is  worthy  and  that  unworthy.  This  sort  of  teaching  will 
result  in  h\'pocrisy  and  cant.  On  the  other  hand,  the  best 
guarantee  of  development  along  these  lines  is  found  in  associa- 
tion with  those  who  do  genuinely  appreciate.  It  is  in  this 
fact  that  we  find  our  first  suggestion  for  work  of  this  kind. 

78 


Lesson  for  Appreciation  79 

Do  not  try  to  teach  any  one  else  to  enjoy  that  which  you 
do  not  fully  appreciate  yourself.  The  fundamental  qualifica- 
tion for  the  teacher  is  power  to  appreciate.  She  must  enjoy 
to  the  full  that  which  she  hopes  to  make  appear  beautiful  in 
the  eyes  of  her  pupils.  It  is  useless  to  ask  children  to  enjoy 
one  of  Stevenson's  child  rhymes,  if  you  find  yourself  unable 
to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  poem.  Pictures  may  be  hung 
on  the  wall  and  religiously  taught;  but  children  will  not  want 
to  buy  good  pictures,  nor  are  they  apt  to  frequent  the  art 
galleries,  unless  they  have  associated  with  those  for  whom 
pictures  are  a  genuine  source  of  pleasure.  The  best  prepara- 
tion for  the  teacher  who  feels  that  her  teaching  is  inadequate 
in  those  phases  of  her  work  which  involve  appreciation  is  to 
plan  to  do  what  she  can  to  insure  her  own  growth  in  this  par- 
ticular. Read  more  poetry,  and  especially  read  it  with  those 
who  derive  great  pleasure  therefrom,  if  you  wish  to  teach  poetry 
better.  If  you  are  familiar  with  the  great  musicians,  and  have 
through  your  acquaintance  with  their  work  developed  some 
measure  of  appreciation  for  this  type  of  expression  and  for  the 
method  by  which  the  musician  has  been  able  to  build  up  his 
wonderful  composition,  then  you  may  rest  assured  that  your 
pupils  will  not  find  music  uninteresting. 

The  question  most  frequently  asked  concerning  the  teaching 
of  those  subjects  in  which  we  seek  to  develop  appreciation  is 
whether  one  must  command  the  technique  involved  in  creation 
in  order  to  grow  in  power  to  enjoy  the  work  of  the  masters. 
For  example,  must  one  be  able  to  read  music  in  order  to  ap- 
preciate music ;  must  one  be  able  to  state  the  rhetorical  excel- 
lence of  Stevenson's  narratives  in  order  to  enjoy  his  stories; 
is  it  essential  that  one  fully  appreciate  the  technique  of  paint- 
ing in  order  to  get  the  most  out  of  Corot  ?  In  general,  the  an- 
swer is  that  such  knowledge  of  technique  may  either  help  or 
hinder  one  in  his  actual  power  of  appreciation.  It  will  hinder, 
if  the  consideration  of  technique  is  constantly  uppermost  in 
one's  mind ;   it  will  help  in  so  far  as  knowledge  of  technique 


8o       A  Brief  Course  {71  the   Teaching  Process 

gives  one  the  feeling  of  excellence  or  perfection  of  form,  pro- 
vided always  that  it  is  this  beauty  of  the  product  which  most 
engages  the  attention,  and  that  interest  in  technique  is  sub- 
sidiary. To  express  the  same  idea  in  another  way :  if  one's 
knowledge  of  technique  makes  him  overcritical  or  oversensi- 
tive, he  is  apt  to  lose  all  enjoyment  in  his  concentration  upon 
the  technique,  in  looking  for  weaknesses,  or  in  his  feeling  of 
discomfort  because  of  imperfection.  What  significance,  it 
may  be  asked,  has  this  for  our  teaching?  Mainly  this,  that 
we  must  remember  that  appreciation  is  in  large  measure  a 
matter  of  the  emotions,  and  that  any  attempt  to  overintel- 
lectualize  the  process  will  defeat  the  end  we  desire  to  secure. 

There  is  no  other  kind  of  work  in  which  the  attitude  of  the 
individual  at  the  beginning  of  the  exercise  is  as  important. 
There  is  a  story  told  of  a  teacher  who  wished  to  teach  a  beau- 
tiful poem,  the  burden  of  which  was  the  beauty  of  kindness  to 
birds.  She  began  with  the  birds  that  the  children  knew  — 
sparrows.  In  a  short  time  the  children  developed  the  notion, 
and  very  justly,  that  sparrows  were  a  pest,  that  they  had  driven 
away  our  song  birds,  and  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  ex- 
terminate them.  The  children  were  ready  to  go  forth  to  the 
slaughter;  and  then  came  the  poem  with  its  admonition  to 
kindness  toward  birds.  These  children  would,  of  course, 
have  been  more  impressed  had  this  preparatory  work  been 
omitted  entirely.  Very  frequently  for  work  of  this  kind,  the 
very  best  preparation  is  found  in  placing  children  directly  in 
contact  with  that  which  you  hope  to  have  them  appreciate. 
Read  the  poem,  play  the  music,  expose  the  picture  to  view,  and 
allow  them  to  do  their  work.  Later  a  somewhat  more  detailed 
treatment,  possibly  involving  many  repetitions,  will  give  oppor- 
tunity for  increased  appreciation. 

Children  should  not  be  forced  to  give  expression  to  the  feel- 
ing awakened.  The  teacher  may  accept  gladly  such  expression 
as  comes  spontaneously.  She  may  at  times  ask  for  a  selection 
of   the   part   most   enjoyed.     Especially  to   be   avoided   are 


Lesson  for  Appreciation  8 1 

expressions  such  as:  *' Don't  you  think  this  beautiful?" 
"Don't  you  enjoy  this?"  and  the  like.  Children  under  such 
stimulation  are  apt  to  say  that  they  enjoy  whether  they  do  or 
not.  They  are  just  as  anxious  to  do  the  right  thing  as  are  some 
of  their  elders.  To  be  constantly  directed,  always  told  what  to 
admire,  means  lack  of  confidence  in  one's  own  ability  to  judge 
of  excellence,  or,  even  worse,  the  attitude  of  the  hypocrite 
who  admires  that  which  he  thinks  it  fashionable  to  favor.  It  is 
probably  safer  to  judge  of  the  success  of  work  of  this  kind  by  the 
expression  on  the  faces  of  the  children  than  by  the  words  you 
may  persuade  them  to  use. 

In  a  lesson  of  this  type  the  teacher  does  the  best  work  when  she 
acts  as  interpreter.  Success  depends  not  so  much  upon  initia- 
tive on  the  part  of  the  children  as  upon  the  ability  of  the  teacher 
to  sympathize  with  the  childish  point  of  view,  and  to  lead  them 
to  greater  heights  by  the  force  of  suggestion  growing  out  of  her 
own  joy  in  that  which  she  presents.  It  is  by  voice,  by  gesture, 
by  suggestion,  and  by  explanation, —  in  all,  by  providing  the  most 
favorable  opportunity  possible  for  appreciation,  keeping  herself 
as  much  as  possible  in  the  background, —  that  the  teacher  makes 
provision  for  the  development  of  this  power  by  children. 

Much  is  gained  in  power  of  appreciation  by  giving  oppor- 
tunity for  creative  work  on  the  part  of  children.  The  group 
of  children  who  have  composed  a  song,  and  who  have  labored 
diligently  to  make  the  music  which  they  have  written  fit  the 
spirit  and  rhythm  of  the  words,  will  find  a  new  meaning  in  the 
lullaby  which  they  are  asked  to  learn  to-morrow.  Music  will 
mean  so  much  more  than  pitch,  time,  notes  of  different  value, 
and  the  like.  Through  their  own  attempt  they  will  have  real- 
ized in  the  best  possible  way  the  fact  that  the  music  of  the 
song  is  intended  to  express  feeling  in  harmony  with  the  words 
that  they  sing.  The  child  who  has  attempted  to  draw  a  land- 
scape will  by  virtue  of  that  fact  grow  in  power  to  enjoy  the 
landscape  placed  on  the  wall  for  his  enjoyment.  And  so  for 
any  other  field  in  which  we  seek  to  develop  power  of  apprecia- 


^V5^7 


82       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

tion ;  to  attempt  to  create  for  himself  will  give  the  child  a  bet- 
ter imderstanding  of  the  elements  which  go  to  make  up  excel- 
lence, and  the  contrast  between  his  own  effort  and  that  of  the 
master  will  greatly  enhance  the  value  of  the  latter  in  his  eyes. 

Thus  far  in  our  discussions  of  the  lesson  for  appreciation  we 
have  interpreted  it  to  mean  the  development  of  the  aesthetic 
emotions.  There  is  another  sort  of  appreciation  which  involves 
rather  more  of  the  intellectual  element,  but  which,  so  far  as 
teaching  method  is  concerned,  may  probably  be  treated  to 
greatest  advantage  in  this  same  connection.  Indeed,  there 
are  cases,  as  in  literature,  where  both  elements  are  involved. 
In  the  study  of  a  drama  of  Shakespeare  we  are  concerned  not 
only  with  the  beauty  of  expression,  but  quite  as  much  with  the 
portrayal  of  the  lives  of  men  and  women  as  they  have  acted  and 
reacted  on  each  other  in  their  common  environment.  In  his- 
tory we  have  this  drama  extended  to  include  a  nation  or  the 
nations  of  the  world  in  their  relations  to  each  other.  In  either 
case  we  have  the  record  of  cause  and  effect,  an  account  of  social 
experience  fundamentally  akin  to  our  own.  Appreciation 
here  involves  the  ability  to  follow  the  logical  relations  which  are 
recorded.  In  proportion  as  one  becomes  aware  of  the  motives 
which  have  actuated  men,  the  relationships  which  have 
existed  among  them,  the  organization  and  outcome  of  their 
activities,  he  has  widened  his  own  experience.  This  possibil- 
ity of  a  vicarious  extension  of  the  child's  social  experience  is 
one  of  the  reasons  for  giving  history  and  literature  a  place  in 
our  school  curriculum. 

Let  us  inquire  what  is  involved  in  securing  appreciation  of 
this  type.  Take,  for  example,  the  appreciation  of  the  period 
just  preceding  the  Civil  War.  How  are  we  to  understand  this 
remote  situation  ?  We  cannot  observe  directly ;  we  cannot,  as 
is  the  case  in  the  solution  of  a  problem  in  our  present  expe- 
rience, gather  data  by  means  of  observation;  nor  can  we  test 
our  conclusions  by  experiment.  Our  first  great  need  is  to  have 
presented  all  of  the  facts  possible.     We  may  read  the  histo- 


Lesson  for  Appreciation  83 

rian^s  account,  or  have  it  read  to  us ;  we  may  get  hold  of  the 
newspapers  published  at  that  time;  read  the  debates  which 
took  place  in  Congress ;  peruse  the  letters  of  men  and  women 
who  lived  and  wrote  at  that  time ;  make  inquiry  concerning 
the  number  of  slaves,  and  the  value  of  the  Southern  plantations 
worked  by  them ;  try  to  find  out  why  slavery  had  been  abol- 
ished in  the  North,  and  by  every  means  possible  famiharize 
ourselves  with  what  men  said  and  did  and  the  conditions  under 
which  they  worked  at  that  time.  We  must  have  this  material 
made  accessible  to  the  children  through  books  or  by  word  of 
mouth  before  we  ask  them  to  follow  the  logical  relations  estab- 
lished among  these  facts  by  the  historian.  Appreciation  has 
its  beginning  in  the  abundance  of  data  supplied  which  makes 
possible  the  imagery  with  which  the  children  are  to  work,  and 
is  consummated  when  the  child  has,  through  his  own  efforts  and 
by  following  the  development  of  another,  come  to  understand 
the  play  of  cause  and  effect,  the  organization  and  relationship 
existing  among  these  human  activities.  Work  of  this  sort 
has  in  the  last  step  something  in  common  with  the  inductive 
lesson,  but  with  this  difference,  that  the  children  are  in  the  main 
concerned  with  appreciation  of  facts  and  of  the  relationships 
established  among  them  by  some  one  else,  presumably  the 
expert  historian.  It  is  more  a  matter  of  understanding  than 
the  discovery  of  new  truth.  Of  course,  there  are  lessons  in  his- 
tory in  which  the  problem  is  just  as  distinct  as  in  any  science, 
and  where  the  work  can  be  best  described  as  inductive  or 
deductive  reasoning. 

And  so  likewise  for  literature.  The  author  presents  the 
situation,  and  draws  his  conclusions,  supposedly  true  to  the 
logic  of  human  action.  The  teacher  may  need  to  supply  details 
which  are  missing,  may  need  to  guide  the  children  in  their 
attempt  to  follow  the  interpretation  of  the  author,  but  it  must 
be  mainly  interpretation  of  facts  provided ;  and  presumably, 
if  great  literature  is  studied,  the  appreciation  of  the  author's 
interpretation  of  the  human  relations  is  of  vastly  greater  im- 


84       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

portance  than  the  attempt  at  interpretation  which  the  chil- 
dren may  make. 

Appreciation  does  not  mean  quiescence,  —  far  from  it.  Neither 
does  it  concern  itself  primarily  with  the  discovery  of  new  truth 
or  excellence.  Rather  we  aim  to  understand,  and  to  enjoy, 
when  the  aesthetic  emotions  are  involved,  the  work  of  the  mas- 
ters. If  we  can,  even  in  some  degree,  lead  children  to  think 
their  thoughts,  to  interpret  human  activity  and  human  feehng 
as  they  have  interpreted  it,  we  shall  have  most  signally  widened 
and  enriched  their  experience,  and  shall  have  made  available 
for  them  for  all  their  lives  a  source  of  recreation  and  enjoyment, 
a  storehouse  of  wisdom,  which  may  constitute  their  greatest 
indebtedness  to  our  efforts  in  their  behalf. 


For  Collateral  Reading 

E.  L.  Thorndike,  Principles  of  Teaching,  Chapter  XII. 

E.  A.  Kirkpatrick,  The  Fundamentals  of  Child  Study,  Chapter  XIII. 

Exercises. 

1.  Why  is  it  worth  while  to  train  children  to  enjoy  literature,  music, 
or  painting  ? 

2.  Do  those  who  look  at  the  pictures  in  the  art  gallery  which  have 
been  specially  mentioned  in  the  catalogue  or  guide  book  necessarily  show 
any  power  of  appreciation  of  good  pictures?  What  would  be  a  better 
test  of  such  power  ? 

3.  Why  is  it  essential  that  you  should  enjoy  a  poem  which  you  try 
to  teach  to  children  ? 

4.  What  advantage  is  there  in  changing  the  pictures  on  the  walls  of 
the  schoolroom  from  time  to  time? 

5.  Is  there  any  good  argument  for  having  children  write  poetry  ? 

6.  What  could  you  do  to  grow  in  ability  to  teach  art  appreciation  ? 

7.  Does  your  technical  knowledge  of  music  interfere  with  your  enjoy- 
ment of  good  music  ? 

8.  What  advantage  is  there  in  having  children  compose  the  music 
for  a  song  which  they  have  written  ? 

9.  Why  is  it  important  that  we  arrange  our  poetry,  music,  and  pictures 
with  reference  to  the  seasons  ? 


Lesson  for  Appreciation  85 

10.  How  would  you  hope  to  discover  whether  or  not  children  enjoyed 
a  new  picture  ? 

11.  Why  ask  children  to  choose  from  among  three  or  four  poems  the 
one  that  they  will  commit  to  memory,  instead  of  requiring  that  they  all 
memorize  the  same  one  ? 

12.  What  value  is  there  in  reading  great  Kterature  to  children  with- 
out comment  ? 

13.  In  what  way  may  a  good  history  lesson  differ  from  an  inductive 
lesson  in  geography  ? 

14.  Do  you  think  it  essential  that  children  should  always  have  prob- 
lems to  solve  in  their  lessons  in  Hterature  ? 

15.  Choose  a  poem  which  you  teach  in  your  grade.  Tell  what  it 
means  to  you.  What  may  it  mean  to  the  children?  Write  four  ques- 
tions which  you  would  ask  to  help  bring  out  meaning  which  might  escape 
the  pupils. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   STUDY  LESSON 

That  it  is  the  main  business  of  the  teacher  to  render  her 
services  unnecessary  cannot  be  too  often  reiterated.  To  be 
able  to  reason  clearly  one's  self;  to  have  control  of  one's 
habits;  in  short,  to  know  how  to  use  one's  energies  to  best 
advantage  when  the  problems  of  life  are  encountered,  is  the 
greatest  benefit  to  be  derived  from  education.  We  shall  con- 
cern ourselves  in  this  discussion  with  study  as  it  involves  con- 
trolled thinking,  whether  inductive  or  deductive;  with  the 
most  economical  method  of  making  knowledge  more  available 
for  use  by  increasing  the  possibility  of  recall;  and  with  the 
possibility  of  reducing  certain  knowledge  or  responses,  whether 
physical  or  mental,  to  the  basis  of  habit. 

In  general,  our  problem  in  teaching  children  to  study  con- 
sists in  making  them  conscious  of  the  best  methods  to  be  em- 
ployed in  logical  thinking,  or  in  the  formation  of  habits,  and 
then  in  giving  sufficient  practice  in  the  use  of  these  methods  to 
make  them  the  habitual  manner  of  reaction,  as  far  as  this  is 
possible.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that  one  who  appHes  the  logical 
method  to  a  question  of  mathematics  or  geography  may  be 
swayed  by  prejudice  when  the  question  concerns  politics  or 
religion;  and  that  the  man  who  knows  best  how  to  form 
desirable  habits  may  be  so  bound  by  some  other  that  he  will 
fail  to  achieve  that  which  he  knows  to  be  desirable.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  if  the  school  makes  the  child  conscious  of  the  most 
economical  methods  of  work,  the  chances  for  later  efficiency 
are  greatly  increased. 

Strangely  enough,  what  we  have  been  prone  to  call  good 

86 


The  Study  Lesson  87 

teaching  has  not  always  accomplished  this  desired  result.  It 
has  too  often  happened  that  the  direction  and  help  offered  by 
the  teacher  have  tended  to  make  the  child  dependent,  utterly 
unable  to  do  a  piece  of  work  for  himself.  Even  when  children 
have  supposedly  been  required  to  do  much  thinking,  the  teacher 
has  sometimes  weakened  her  work  by  continually  stepping  in 
to  propose  the  next  step  whenever  a  critical  point  has  been 
reached.  The  argument  which  proves  conclusively  that  chil- 
dren do  not  learn  to  work  independently  is  found  in  their 
inability  in  the  upper  grades,  in  the  high  school,  and  even  in 
the  college  to  use  their  time  to  good  advantage.^ 

In  teaching  children  how  to  study,  the  first  step  involves 
a  clear  statement  of  the  problem  to  be  solved.  The  teacher 
who  says  ''take  the  next  five  pages"  cannot  expect  that  the 
children  will  do  anything  more,  so  far  as  learning  how  to  study 
is  concerned,  than  waste  time  in  fulfilling  her  demands.  We 
think  hard  when  we  have  a  problem  to  solve.  If  it  be  true 
that  children  need  to  have  an  aim  clearly  in  mind  when  they 
are  at  work  with  the  teacher,  it  is  much  more  essential  that 
they  should  have  clearly  in  mind  the  goal  toward  which  they 
are  striving  when  they  work  alone.  Whenever  children  are 
expected  to  do  any  work  at  their  seats  or  at  home,  the  type 
of  assignment  becomes  a  determining  factor.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  a  minute  or  two  at  the  end  of  a  recitation  will 
be  sufficient  to  make  clear  to  the  pupils  the  problem  involved 
in  the  work  to  be  accomplished  during  the  study  hour.  The 
best  time  to  make  assignments  is  when,  as  the  subject  is  de- 
veloped, a  problem  arises  which  cannot  then  be  solved.  A 
good  recitation  ought  to  culminate  in  the  statement  of  the 
questions  yet  to  be  answered  quite  as  much  as  in  a  statement 
of  what  has  been  accompHshed.  If  the  class  has  been  kept 
intellectually  alert,  there  ought  to  be  raised  by  the  children 

1  For  a  discussion  of  this  and  other  aspects  of  the  problem,  see  Earhart, 
Teaching  Children  to  Study;  McMurry,  How  to  Study,  and  Teaching  How  to 
Study. 


88       A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teachi^ig  Process 

many  questions,  which  maybe  assigned  either  to  the  whole  class 
or  to  individuals  for  report  at  a  succeeding  recitation. 

A  very  good  incentive  to  study  is  found  in  making  assign- 
ments to  individuals  or  groups  for  report  to  the  whole  class. 
Even  if  the  problem  itself  is  not  of  surpassing  interest,  the 
desire  to  contribute  one's  share  to  the  group  project,  and  the 
wish  to  do  as  well  as  one's  neighbor,  will  stimulate  to  greater 
effort.  It  would  be  well  if  teachers  tested  their  own  work 
and  the  children's  comprehension  of  the  assignments  made 
by  asking  frequently  during  the  study  period  for  a  statement 
of  the  problem.  To  read  a  book  intelligently,  to  perform  an 
experiment  to  advantage,  children  must  know  what  they 
seek.  The  attitude  which  we  hope  to  develop  should  lead 
a  child  to  ask,  when  in  doubt,  such  questions  as  these :  ''What 
am  I  to  try  to  find  out  from  reading  this  chapter?"  "What 
am  I  to  look  for  on  the  excursion?"  "What  is  the  problem 
which  we  are  now  discussing?"  "Is  the  report  which  has 
just  been  made  to  the  point?"  "Did  John's  answer  have 
anything  to  do  with  the  question  we  are  discussing?"  and 
the  like.  When  children  have  learned  to  expect  to  work 
toward  the  accompKshment  of  some  definite  result  in  thought 
as  well  as  in  action,  when  they  hold  to  the  main  issue  regard- 
less of  the  allurements  of  subsidiary  problems  which  should 
be  held  for  later  investigation,  when  they  become  critical  of  the 
contributions  offered  by  books  or  by  their  companions,  then, 
and  not  until  then,  have  they  taken  the  first  step  in  learning 
to  study. 

When  children  have  become  conscious  of  the  meaning  of  the 
aim  or  problem  as  an  element  in  successful  study,  and  when 
their  practice  is  guided  by  this  consciousness,  they  will  meet 
with  another  difficulty  in  learning  how  to  secure  the  data 
adequate  for  the  solution  of  the  problem.  Before  leaving  the 
elementary  school,  children  should  know  how  to  use  dictionaries, 
encyclopedias,  gazetteers,  year  books,  and  the  like.  It  is 
passing  strange  that  college  students  often  seem  not  to  know 


The  Study  Lesson  89, 

the  purpose  either  of  the  table  of  contents  or  of  the  index  in 
the  books  which  they  use.  It  is  pitiful  to  see  a  person  leafing 
through  a  book  trying  to  find  information  on  some  question 
at  issue,  when  in  a  minute  he  could  find  in  the  index  just  the 
page  or  section  in  which  this  topic  is  treated,  and  so  spend  the 
time  gathering  data  instead  of  wasting  it  in  a  random  search 
for  the  information  desired.  It  is  necessary  to  teach  children 
to  consult  the  indices  and  tables  of  contents  of  books,  and  to 
give  them  frequent  practice  in  work  of  this  kind,  if  they  are 
commonly  to  employ  this  device  or  method. 

Another  help  to  the  collection  of  data  might  very  well  begin 
to  be  used  in  the  intermediate  grades  of  the  elementary  school ; 
it  is  the  practice  of  noting,  when  more  than  one  book  or  source 
of  information  is  used,  just  where  the  information  is  to  be 
found,  and  something  of  its  nature.  If  the  pupil  consults  more 
than  one  authority,  the  one  read  last  may  raise  questions 
which  must  be  answered  by  a  return  to  those  used  earlier,  and 
one  ought  to  be  able  to  turn  directly  to  the  sources  formerly 
consulted.  Or  it  may  be  that  a  similar  problem,  or  one  having 
much  in  common  with  it,  will  arise  a  week  or  a  month  later, 
when  a  record  of  the  sources  of  information  consulted  before 
will  Hghten  the  work  by  half.  A  record  of  this  sort  could  be 
kept  in  notebooks,  or,  as  is  done  by  older  people  who  know 
how  to  work,  in  a  card  index.  Of  course  work  of  this  kind 
presupposes  the  use  of  some  books  other  than  a  single  text- 
book ;  and  to  go  very  far  in  giving  children  the  command  of 
the  technique  of  study  we  shall  have  to  provide  ourselves 
with  more  than  a  single  book  for  a  subject. 

Another  way  by  which  children  can  be  greatly  helped  is 
teaching  them  how  to  take  notes  and  how  to  annotate.  There 
is  no  exercise  more  valuable  to  the  student,  so  far  as  his  future 
work  is  concerned,  than  practice  in  writing  in  a  very  few  words 
the  gist  of  a  paragraph  or  page.  As  they  reflect  later,  they 
may  want  to  know  the  argument  of  this  authority  or  that, 
but  they  must  have  it  in  condensed  form  or  they  will  be  little 


90       A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

better  off  than  when  they  began  their  work.  A  very  helpful 
exercise  is  to  have  children  to  abstract,  either  orally  or  in  writ- 
ing, a  page  or  two  of  a  book  which  they  are  studying,  and  to 
compare  results.  In  this  work  the  problem  is  that  which  con- 
fronts the  thinker  at  every  stage  of  his  work,  the  selection  of 
that  which  is  relevant  and  the  discarding  of  that  which  is  less 
significant.  If  we  think  logically,  among  the  mass  of  possible 
data  we  must  always  choose  that  which  in  our  judgment  is 
relatively  most  valuable  for  our  purpose.  The  teacher  in  the 
organization  of  material  for  presentation  in  any  subject  is  con- 
fronted constantly  with  the  problem  of  relative  values.  Not 
all  can  be  presented,  even  though  relevant  to  the  issue  in- 
volved ;  hence,  choice  must  be  made.  And  just  so,  if  the  child 
learns  to  study,  to  conduct  his  own  investigations,  he  must 
be  made  conscious  of  this  need  of  discrimination,  and  he  must 
be  given  practice  in  its  exercise. 

Adequate  study  demands  not  simply  that  an  abundance 
of  data  which  bear  on  the  problem  be  secured,  but  that  the 
vaHdity  of  the  data  be  brought  into  question.  Children  ought 
not  to  accept  bhndly  the  statements  of  books  or  even  of  the 
teacher.  The  one  thing  which  characterizes  the  student  is  his 
search  for  truth,  his  attitude  of  inquiry  as  opposed  to  an  appeal 
to  authority.  It  is  well  for  children  at  times  to  question  the 
statements  found  in  their  books  when  experience  suggests 
the  doubt.  It  is  equally  important,  of  course,  that  they  be 
willing  to  acknowledge  their  mistake,  should  proof  be  forth- 
coming in  support  of  the  book.  If  a  child  really  studies,  he 
must,  even  as  an  adult,  find  statements  of  fact,  the  records 
of  observations  or  experiments,  which  are  at  variance  with  the 
evidence  which  he  already  possesses.  It  is  just  in  this  par- 
ticular that  the  student  differs  from  ordinary  men  who  allow 
others  to  do  their  thinking  for  them.  The  student  may  not 
be  able  to  settle  the  question,  and  so  forms  a  judgment  which 
is  frankly  tentative.  Children  ought  to  have  the  experience 
of  finding  that  there  are  some  questions  to  which  a  definite 


The  Study  Lesson  91 

answer  cannot,  in  the  present  state  of  knowledge,  be  given. 
They  should  be  shown,  wherever  possible,  how  the  conclu- 
sions of  men  on  some  of  the  most  important  problems  that 
have  been  studied  have  changed  from  time  to  time.  They 
can  at  times  be  made  to  realize  the  folly  of  overhasty  gener- 
alization. 

No  one  has  learned  how  to  study  who  has  not  been  trained 
to  reflect  upon  his  experience,  whether  the  experience  has  been 
recently  acquired  with  the  express  purpose  of  solving  his  prob- 
lem, or  is  some  more  remote  element  in  experience  which  may 
shed  light  on  the  question  in  hand.  A  skillful  teacher  can 
guide  in  this  process  of  reflection,  and  will  later  tell  them  what 
is  meant,  and  demonstrate  for  them  something  of  the  value 
of  the  practice.  It  is  quite  worth  while  for  a  student  to  know 
when  he  has  concentrated  his  attention  upon  a  problem,  and 
just  what  is  meant  by  reflection.  Many  older  people  deceive 
themselves  into  thinking  that  they  are  exercising  themselves 
in  these  directions  when  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the  ele- 
ments involved  in  fixing  attention  or  in  reflection  might  awaken 
them  to  the  futility  of  their  practices.  There  need  be  noth- 
ing occult  or  hard  to  understand  about  the  practice  of  study. 
It  is  not  a  matter  of  terminology  nor  of  a  systematic  course 
in  psychology,  but  rather  consists  in  guiding  the  individual 
in  his  practice  of  the  art,  and  then  making  known  to  him  the 
elements  in  his  experience  which  have  meant  success  or  failure. 
It  may  be  enlightening  to  compare  the  emphasis  upon  careful 
examination  of  data,  the  formation  of  tentative  rather  than 
fixed  judgments,  the  guarding  against  hasty  generalizations, 
and  the  emphasis  upon  reflection  with  the  steps  of  presentation, 
of  comparison  and  abstraction,  and  of  generalization  in  the 
inductive  lesson,  and  with  the  corresponding  steps  of  the  de- 
ductive lesson.  The  conviction  will  probably  be  deepened 
that  when  the  teacher  instructs  the  student  in  the  art  of  study 
she  is  making  available  for  him  the  method  which  she  employs 
in  instruction.     This  must  be  the  relationship ;  for  the  teacher 


92       A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

can  do  nothing  more  than  take  account  of  the  way  the  child 
learns,  and  adapt  her  method  to  his  possibihties. 

The  habit  of  verification  is  one  of  the  most  important  from 
the  point  of  view  of  learning  how  to  study.  The  questions 
which  the  student  must  constantly  ask  himself  are :  ''Can  the 
conclusions  be  appHed?"  ''Do  they  always  hold?"  "Does 
it  work?"  Fine-spun  theories  are  of  little  avail,  however 
much  satisfaction  the  originator  of  them  may  have  found  in 
deriving  them.  At  every  step  in  the  progress  of  his  thought 
the  conclusions  must  be  tested  by  an  appeal  to  known  facts. 
The  teacher  cannot  too  frequently  insist  upon  this  step  as  the 
criterion  of  the  worth  of  the  thinking  which  has  been  done. 
And  the  insistence  will  be  necessary,  for  it  seems  natural  for 
human  beings  to  become  so  enamored  of  their  theories  that 
they  hesitate  to  expose  them  to  the  test  which  may  prove  them 
false. 

Teaching  children  to  memorize:  Throughout  the  school  life 
of  the  child,  memorizing  is  a  regular  part  of  his  work.  If 
practice  alone  were  necessary,  every  child  should  soon  learn 
how  to  do  this  kind  of  work  in  the  most  economical  manner. 
The  great  difficulty  is  that  often  neither  teacher  nor  pupil  has 
given  any  thought  to  the  method  employed,  their  attention  hav- 
ing been  wholly  engrossed  with  success  or  failure  in  achiev- 
ing the  result.  It  is  a  well  established  principle  of  psychol- 
ogy that  the  possibility  of  recall  is  conditioned  by  the  system 
of  ideas  with  which  that  which  we  wish  to  recall  has  been  identi- 
fied. The  more  associations  made,  or  the  more  perfect  our 
control  of  any  system  of  ideas  which  involves  that  which  we 
wish  to  remember,  the  greater  the  probability  of  bringing  to 
mind  the  fact  when  we  need  it.  As  Professor  James  puts  it : 
"Of  two  men  with  the  same  outward  experience,  the  one  who 
thinks  over  his  experiences  most,  and  weaves  them  into  the  most 
systematic  relations  with  each  other,  will  be  the  one  with  the 
best  memory."  And  along  with  this  fact  is  another  equally 
important  for  the  teacher :   that  we  may  not  hope  to  increase 


The  Study  Lesson  93 

the  native  power  of  retentiveness.  The  child  whom  we  teach 
may  be  endowed  by  nature  with  Httle  or  much  power  of  this 
sort,  and  we  cannot  change  it ;  but  we  can  improve  his  method 
of  memorizing. 

The  first  step  in  memorizing  is  to  understand.  If  we  try 
to  commit  to  memory  the  words  of  a  book  when  we  do  not  fully 
comprehend  the  meaning,  we  are  depending  very  largely  on 
our  desultory  memory,  i.e.  upon  our  ability  to  rememxber  the 
things  because  they  have  been  once  present  in  mind  ;  and  our 
efficiency  will  depend  wholly  upon  our  quality  of  native  re- 
tentiveness. But,  unfortunately,  for  want  of  knowledge  of 
a  better  method,  children  are  frequently  satisfied  that  they  are 
doing  adequate  work  when  they  are  repeating  over  and  over 
again  the  words  which  they  have  made  little  attempt  to  com- 
prehend. 

Even  when  the  sense  of  the  words  to  be  memorized  is  fairly 
clear,  it  is  uneconomical  to  employ  this  method  of  accretion. 
The  child  who  studies  the  poem  by  saying  first  the  first  fine,  then 
the  second,  then  the  first  and  second,  then  the  third,  then  the 
first,  the  second,  and  the  third,  depends  upon  mere  repetition, 
not  upon  thinking,  for  the  persistence  of  the  impression.  It 
has  been  demonstrated  that  on  the  basis  of  the  amount  of 
time  required  this  method  is  uneconomical.  Add  to  this  the 
fact  that  after  the  first  complete  repetition,  later  successful 
recall  depends  upon  the  efficiency  of  the  system  of  associated 
ideas  which  have  been  established ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
of  the  folly  of  such  a  method  of  procedure.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  children  who  commit  to  memory  in  this  way  forget  so 
readily.  They  may  have  understood  what  they  said  when 
they  first  repeated  the  poem  ;  but  the  method  they  employed 
almost  precludes  the  building  up  of  a  system  of  associated 
ideas  on  the  basis  of  careful  thinking. 

If  the  child  has  read  aloud  and  understands  the  selection  to 
be  memorized,  the  next  thing  to  be  done  is  to  analyze  it  into  its 
principal  thought  units;    and  then  each  of  these  large  units 


94       -^  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

of  thought  may  be  again  carefully  scrutinized  until  a  full  appre- 
ciation of  the  thought  has  been  accomplished.  The  thought 
of  the  whole  may  then  be  stated,  using  as  far  as  possible  the 
words  of  the  author,  and  then  each  of  the  subdivisions  or 
thought  units  may  be  examined  in  more  detail  in  order  to  get 
the  shade  of  meaning  that  is  brought  out  by  this  or  that  word, 
by  relationship  of  coordination  or  subordination  of  clause,  or 
the  modification  indicated  by  this  word  or  phrase.  It  will  be 
necessary,  as  the  work  progresses  on  the  large  thought  units 
into  which  the  selection  has  been  divided,  to  return  constantly 
to  the  whole  thought  in  order  to  keep  clear  the  relationship  of 
the  part  to  the  whole,  and  to  establish  the  part  in  the  system  of 
ideas  which  we  seek  to  build  up.  ''All  the  evidence  we  have 
goes  to  show  that  the  method  of  memorizing  by  wholes  is  most 
economical."  ^  If  children  were  taught  to  work  in  this  way, 
there  would  be  little  drudgery  about  memorizing.  The  care- 
ful, thoughtful  study  once  completed,  memorization  has  been 
accomplished.  The  energy  and  attention  of  the  child  have  not 
been  centered  upon  a  merely  technical  process,  but  he  has  been 
concerned  mainly  in  trying  to  appreciate  fully  the  thought  that 
he  is  to  make  his  own.  Memory  work  of  this  kind  is  highly 
educative,  not  merely  because  of  the  product,  but  also  because 
of  the  process  employed.  Suppose,  for  example,  you  wish 
children  to  memorize  Stevenson's  Bed  in  Summer:  — 


In  winter  I  get  up  at  night 
And  dress  by  yellow  candle-light. 
In  summer,  quite  the  other  way, 
I  have  to  go  to  bed  by  day. 

I  have  to  go  to  bed  and  see 
The  birds  still  hopping  on  the  tree, 
Or  hear  the  grown-up  people's  feet 
Still  going  past  me  in  the  street. 

1  W.  H.  Pyle  and  J.  C.  Snyder,  "The  Most  Economical  Unit  for  Committing 
to  Memory,"  Journal  of  Educational  Psychology,  Vol.  II,  pp.  133—142. 


The  Study  Lesson  95 

And  does  it  not  seem  hard  to  you, 
When  all  the  sky  is  clear  and  blue, 
And  I  should  like  so  much  to  play, 
To  have  to  go  to  bed  by  day  ? 

You  would  begin  by  reading  the  whole  poem,  calling  to  mind 
the  experiences  of  the  children  in  going  to  bed  before  dark  on 
the  long  summer  evenings  and  of  the  cold,  dark  winter  morn- 
ings when  they  may  have  dressed  before  it  was  light.  The 
number  and  the  kind  of  explanations  which  will  need  to  be 
made  will,  of  course,  depend  upon  the  previous  experience  of 
the  children  and  the  time  of  the  year.  Then  the  poem  might 
be  read  again  a  time  or  two.  After  this  preliminary  work  has 
been  done,  you  might  ask  some  one  to  tell  you  the  story.  Let 
us  suppose  that  the  reply  was  about  as  follows :  ''A  little  boy 
had  to  get  up  before  it  was  light  in  the  winter,  and  go  to  bed 
before  it  was  dark  in  the  summer.  In  summer  when  he  went 
to  bed  he  heard  the  birds  hopping  on  the  trees  and  the  people 
walking  past  him  in  the  street.  He  thought  it  was  hard  to 
have  to  go  to  bed  when  it  was  still  dayKght,  when  he  wanted 
so  much  to  play."  If  the  main  facts  were  less  well  told,  or  if 
there  were  notable  omissions,  it  would  be  necessary  to  get  at 
least  an  outline  of  the  main  thought  before  proceeding.  Now 
we  are  ready  to  call  the  attention  of  the  children  to  three  main 
thoughts,  each  told  in  a  stanza.  First,  the  difference  between 
getting  up  in  winter  and  going  to  bed  in  summer.  Second, 
what  did  the  boy  in  the  story  see  and  hear  when  he  went  to  bed 
before  dark  ?  Third,  how  do  you  feel  when  you  have  to  go  to 
bed  in  summer  while  the  sky  is  still  so  clear  and  blue,  and  you 
would  like  so  much  to  play  ? 

It  will  be  very  easy  to  get  the  thought  of  the  first  stanza 
impressed  in  the  words  of  the  author.  It  will  help  to  read 
the  whole  poem  again,  the  teacher  meanwhile  asking  the  chil- 
dren to  pay  particular  attention  to  the  way  the  author  says 
it.  Possibly  there  will  be  some  difficulty  with  "quite  the 
other  way,"  but  skillful  questioning  will  get  the  correct  form. 


96       A  Brief  Course  hi  the   Teaching  Process 

And  so  for  the  second  and  third  stanzas ;  if  the  thought  is  clear, 
the  words  will  follow  very  easily.  After  each  thought  has  been 
thus  carefully  developed,  with  the  whole  story  always  in  mind, 
and  the  words  of  the  author  have  been  made  the  vehicle  of  ex- 
pressing the  thought  by  the  children,  it  will  be  advantageous 
to  have  the  poem  repeated  several  times  by  individual  mem- 
bers of  the  class.  In  this  repetition  the  dramatic  element 
should  enter  as  far  as  possible.  To  suit  the  action  to  the  word, 
to  really  feel  what  one  recites,  helps  greatly  to  strengthen  the 
impression,  and  thus  aids  recall. 

It  may  be  thought  that  the  illustration  used  was  particularly 
well  adapted  to  illustrate  the  theory  advanced.  Or  some 
teacher  may  say  that  children  would  memorize  Bed  in  Summer 
without  teaching.  It  may,  therefore,  not  be  out  of  place  to 
suggest  that  the  best  way  to  discover  for  one's  self  the  value 
of  the  method  is  to  try  it.  It  will  work  equally  well  if  the  sub- 
ject is  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address,  a  selection  from  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  the  Twenty- third  Psalm,  or  any 
other  masterpiece  of  English. 

The  principles  to  be  appHed  are  essentially  the  same  even 
when  verbatim  memorization  is  not  required.  To  get  lasting 
control  of  the  facts  of  geography  or  of  history,  one  must  have 
reduced  them  to  a  system.  There  must  be  a  relating  of  less 
important  facts  to  more  important,  a  clustering  of  important 
points  of  reference  to  any  other  facts  which  are  logically  re- 
lated. This,  indeed,  is  just  what  scientific  organization  means, 
and  the  main  purpose  of  such  organization  is  to  render  facts  more 
available,  to  save  labor.  The  memory  is  relieved  of  much  of 
its  burden  when  once  we  have  established  the  relationship  of 
cause  and  effect,  of  equivalence,  of  similarity,  or  of  analogy 
among  facts.  It  is  this  association  of  ideas  on  a  logical  basis 
which  counts  most  in  the  possibility  of  recall. 

It  is  quite  possible  for  children,  very  early  in  their  school  life, 
to  begin  to  apply  these  principles  and  to  become  conscious  of 
the  fact  that  the  way  they  do  their  work  has  an  important 


The  Study  Lesson  97 

bearing  upon  the  ease  with  which  it  is  accomplished  and  the 
permanency  of  the  results  gained.  The  work  of  the  teacher 
is  not  done  by  merely  dictating  the  method,  even  though  that 
may  help  greatly  to  establish  right  habits  of  study ;  our  best 
assurance  that  the  method  will  be  employed  when  the  teacher 
is  not  present  to  direct  the  work  is  found  in  our  knowledge  that 
the  children  not  only  habitually,  but  also  when  a  question 
arises  or  there  is  a  suggestion  of  another  way,  consciously 
employ  the  right  method. 

Teaching  children  how  to  form  habits:  Our  next  prob- 
lem is  to  inquire  how  children  may  be  led  consciously  to  employ 
the  principles  of  habit  formation  when  their  school  work  in- 
volves work  of  this  type.  They  can  be  taught  the  function  of 
drill  or  repetition,  and  can  be  led  to  see  under  what  conditions 
such  work  will  prove  most  successful.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
prove  to  a  boy  that  his  listless,  half-hearted  work  in  repeating 
the  spelling  of  the  words  he  has  missed  is  making  little  im- 
provement in  his  ability  to  spell  them.  A  boy  can  be  led  to 
see  by  an  illustration  in  which  he  himself  is  the  chief  actor 
that  concentrated  attention  will  make  much  difference.  Let 
him  see  how  much  he  can  accomplish  in  ten  minutes,  and  thus 
get  him  in  the  habit  of  using  this  means  when  he  finds  that  he 
is  not  working  up  to  his  normal  capacity.  Show  him  that  a 
new  impetus  will  be  given  and  that  attention  will  be  easier  if 
he  reverses  the  order,  writes  instead  of  spelling  orally,  or  closes 
his  eyes  and  attempts  to  visualize  the  words.  No  matter 
what  motive  the  boy  has  for  the  attempt  he  is  making,  he  will 
welcome  the  suggestions  which  make  the  task  easier. 

Later  you  can  teach  this  same  boy  the  need  of  verification 
before  drilling  himself  whenever  a  question  of  fact  is  raised.  In 
the  beginning,  of  course,  the  doubt  or  question  will  be  raised  by 
the  teacher,  and  it  will  be  the  chief  work  of  the  child  to  find  an 
authority  and  assure  himself  that  he  has  the  right  idea  or  form 
before  proceeding.  A  big  step  in  the  education  of  a  child  has 
been  taken  when  he  is  able  to  say,  ''I  know  I  am  right,  because 


98       A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

I  have  consulted  the  commonly  accepted  authority."  Occa- 
sions will  arise  constantly  in  the  study  of  any  subject  where, 
instead  of  asking  the  teacher  or  being  satisfied  with  information 
which  is  of  questionable  vahdity,  the  child  should,  as  a  matter 
of  habit,  turn  to  the  authority  for  verification.  It  is  not  at 
all  unusual  for  children  to  have  misgivings,  but  they  too  fre- 
quently end  by  going  ahead  and  ignoring  their  doubt.  To 
respect  one's  doubts,  to  be  somewhat  critical,  is  significant  for 
education  only  when  one  is  led  thereby  to  endeavor  to  discover 
the  truth.  Children  will  work  to  advantage  when  they  realize 
that  these  steps  of  doubt,  verification,  repetition,  with  undi- 
vided attention,  are  essential  to  good  work. 

Children  can  be  taught  the  necessity  of  accuracy  in  practice. 
Any  day's  work  in  a  schoolroom  will  furnish  illustrations  of 
the  danger  of  lapses  and  the  necessity  of  guarding  against  them. 
The  fallacy  of  the  notion  that  ''this  one  doesn't  count"  can  be 
made  just  as  clear  to  children  as  to  adults.  So,  too,  the  mis- 
taken notion  that  cramming  may  be  substituted  for  systematic 
work  day  in  and  day  out  can  be  brought  to  the  attention  of 
pupils. 

It  would  be  a  good  plan  for  every  teacher  to  ask  herself 
questions  Hke  the  following  :  "What  would  the  children  do  if  I 
did  not  carefully  direct  their  work  ?  "  '•'  How  much  better  able 
are  they  now  to  work  independently  than  they  were  at  the 
beginning  of  the  year  ?  "  "  Can  they  take  a  book  and  fiind  in  it 
the  part  which  bears  upon  the  topic  assigned  for  study,  and 
do  they  do  it  with  the  least  possible  waste  of  time  and  energy  ?" 
''Do  they  know  how  to  memorize;  what  it  means  to  concen- 
trate their  attention;  how  to  reflect?"  "Are  they  more 
open-minded  or  more  dogmatic  on  account  of  the  year  spent 
with  me?"  "Have  they  established  the  habit  of  verifi- 
cation ?  "  "Do  they  appreciate  the  method  to  be  employed  in 
habit  formation?"  To  answer  these  questions  honestly  will 
give  the  teacher  some  idea  of  her  success  as  a  teacher,  for  the 
teacher's  goal  is  realized  in  proportion  as  her  pupils  have 


The  Study  Lesson  99 

advanced  in  power  to  work  independently  of  her  guidance  or 
control. 

In  teaching  children  how  to  study,  it  will  be  well  to  devote 
whole  periods  to  this  type  of  exercise.  The  teacher  will  gain 
much  in  the  progress  which  her  class  will  make  by  taking  a 
period  frequently  during  which  she  studies  with  the  children. 
By  example  rather  than  by  precept,  by  guiding  children  in 
correct  methods  of  study  and  then  making  them  conscious 
that  they  have  done  their  work  to  the  best  possible  advantage, 
rather  than  by  telling  them  what  to  do,  she  will  secure  the 
maximum  of  results  in  her  endeavor  to  teach  children  how  to 
study. 

For  Collateral  Reading 

F.  M.  McMurry,  Uow  to  Study. 

Lida  B.  Earhart,  Teaching  Children  to  Study,  Chapter  VIII. 

Exercises. 

1.  What  is  the  relation  between  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  of 
teaching  and  the  attempt  to  teach  children  how  to  study  ? 

2.  How  would  you  teach  a  boy  to  study  his  spelling  lesson? 

3.  What  exercises  would  you  give  your  pupils  to  make  them  able  to 
use  books  to  the  best  advantage  ? 

4.  State  five  problems  which  you  have  assigned  to  your  pupils  which 
seem  to  you  to  have  furnished  a  sufficient  motive  for  study. 

5.  Which  would  be  better  as  an  assignment  for  a  class  in  history: 
"Study  the  topic  of  slavery  for  to-morrow" ;  or,  "Try  to  find  out  why 
slaves  were  not  kept  in  the  Northern  states" ;  or,  "Did  all  of  the  people 
in  the  Northern  states  believe  that  slavery  should  be  aboHshed?" 

6.  What  is  the  advantage  in  individual  or  group  assignments  ?  Give 
a  list  of  such  assignments  which  you  have  recently  given  to  your  class. 

7.  Why  is  it  necessary  in  studying  to  restate  the  problem  under  con- 
sideration at  frequent  intervals? 

8.  When  children  study,  should  they  try  to  remember  all  that  they 
read  in  their  books? 

9.  Is  it  wise  to  have  children  critical  of  each  other's  contributions 
during  a  recitation? 

10.  How  could  you  hope  to  train  children  to  discriminate  between 
the  material  of  greater  and  of  less  importance  when  they  read  books  to 
find  the  answers  to  their  problems  ? 


lOO     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

11.  Vrhat  do  you  think  of  the  success  of  a  study  period  where  ten 
problems  are  given,  each  independent  of  the  others? 

12.  How  would  you  expect  children  to  verify  the  conclusions  which 
they  reach  in  solving  their  problems  in  geograph}^  nature  study,  or 
arithmetic  ? 

13.  Take  any  poem  of  from  four  to  ten  stanzas,  and  have  your  pupils 
commit  it  to  memory  as  a  whole  by  reading  it  over  and  discussing  the 
thought  as  often  as  may  be  necessary.  Take  another  poem  of  equal 
length  and  of  equal  difficulty,  according  to  your  judgment,  and  have 
them  commit  it  to  memory  line  by  line  and  stanza  by  stanza.  (A  good 
plan  would  be  to  take  four  stanzas  for  each  test  from  the  same  long 
poem.)  Three  weeks  after  each  selection  is  learned,  without  suggesting 
to  the  pupils  that  the  selection  is  to  be  called  for  again,  find  out  what 
part  of  each  selection  can  be  recalled. 

14.  How  could  you  teach  your  pupils  that  the  repetitions  which  count 
when  studying  a  spelling  lesson  are  the  ones  which  are  made  with  atten- 
tion concentrated  upon  the  work  in  hand  ? 

15.  Is  a  study  period  in  the  schoolroom  properly  regarded  as  a  rest 
period  for  teachers  and  pupils? 

16.  Are  the  children  you  teach  better  able  to  get  along  without  a 
teacher  than  they  were  when  they  came  to  you?  What  evidence  can 
you  give  to  show  that  they  can  work  independently? 


CHAPTER  IX 

REVIEW  OR  EXAMINATION  LESSON 

The  review  or  the  examination,  in  so  far  as  methods  of 
teaching  are  concerned,  present  the  same  problem.  We  seek 
by  means  of  exercises  of  this  type  to  bring  about  a  better  or- 
ganization of  knowledge,  to  test  the  efficiency  of  our  work  by 
finding  out  whether  or  not  pupils  can,  when  put  to  the  test, 
utilize  the  knowledge  or  habits  which  we  have  labored  to  make 
available  for  them,  whether  they  are  actuated  by  the  ideals 
and  purposes  which  we  have  sought  to  inculcate,  whether  they 
do  actually  employ  the  most  economical  methods  of  work 
when  they  meet  a  situation  which  challenges  their  strength. 
It  will  be  recognized  at  once  that  work  of  this  sort  is  a  part  of 
every  recitation.  But  for  our  own  satisfaction,  and,  possibly, 
in  order  to  meet  the  requirements  which  may  be  imposed  by 
those  higher  in  authority,  we  may  at  times  feel  the  need  for  a 
stated  exercise  of  this  sort. 

A  review  should  mean  a  new  view,  a  placing  of  facts  in  their 
true  relationship.  It  should  mean  a  clearer  view  of  the  topic 
or  the  subject  which  the  children  have  been  studying.  It 
avails  little  to  go  over  the  ground  that  has  already  been  covered 
more  rapidly.  The  purpose  to  be  accompHshed  is  not  to  fix 
in  mind  a  series  of  unrelated  facts.  In  our  discussion  of  mem- 
ory we  had  occasion  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  recall  of 
past  experiences  was  conditioned  by  the  number  and  the 
quality  of  the  associations  which  had  been  established.  And 
it  is  not  simply  a  matter  of  recall.  The  use  that  we  can  make 
of  a  fact  depends  upon  our  ability  to  relate  it  logically  to  other 
facts.     It  is  quite  possible  that  a  man  of  great  native  reten- 

lOI 


I02     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

tiveness  might  be  able  to  recall  thousands  of  facts,  and  yet  be 
stupid,  utterly  unable  to  do  the  thinking  required  for  effective 
action.  To  bring  about  such  an  organization  of  ideas  demands 
that  from  day  to  day  the  new  facts  or  principles  that  are  learned 
be  consciously  related  to  the  old.  It  will  not  be  economical 
to  put  off  all  reviewing  until  the  end  of  the  month,  or  quarter, 
or  term.  The  step  taken  in  advance  to-day  can  be  properly 
appreciated  only  when  it  is  seen  in  relation  to  that  which  has 
gone  before ;  and  the  work  of  the  past  week  or  month  will,  in 
turn,  by  this  additional  effort  be  seen  in  truer  perspective. 

There  are,  however,  convenient  units  into  which  subjects 
naturally  divide  themselves ;  and  when  one  of  these  units  has 
been  completed,  it  may  be  well  to  take  a  period  or  two  for 
the  express  purpose  of  re\dew.  We  may  then  clear  up  any 
misconceptions,  give  a  chance  for  additional  verification  and 
appHcation  of  the  knowledge  thus  far  gained.  It  cannot  be 
too  strongly  emphasized  that  the  review  which  really  counts 
is  one  in  which  the  teacher  works  with  the  children,  guides 
them  and  instructs  them,  rather  than  sits  in  judgment  over 
them.  There  is  nothing  more  disastrous  to  the  best  type  of 
work  than  the  idea  on  the  part  of  children  that  the  review  les- 
son is  the  teacher's  opportunity  to  ask  catch  questions,  or  to 
overemphasize  unimportant  details.  Children  respond  very 
quickly  in  such  a  situation  by  their  endeavor  to  cram,  with 
little  or  no  effort  at  organization,  all  of  the  facts  that  they 
have  been  taught. 

A  convenient  stimulus  to  the  proper  sort  of  review  is  found 
in  the  requirement  that  pupils  prepare  an  abstract  or  topical 
outline  of  the  ground  which  has  been  covered,  and  submit  it, 
preferably  from  memory,  for  class  criticism  and  discussion.  If 
the  teacher  asks  questions,  she  should  be  very  careful  to  see 
that  they  are  questions  of  large  scope  which  demand  organiza- 
tion, or  still  better  the  application  of  organized  knowledge. 
This  brings  us  to  the  problem  of  testing. 

The  only  adequate  test  of  school  education,  as  of  all  other 


Review  or  Examination  Lesson  103 

education,  is  action.  The  nearer  we  can  in  our  tests  reproduce 
the  conditions  which  will  confront  the  child  in  actual  life,  the 
better.  Not  that  we  can  always  have  him  actually  present 
in  the  situation ;  but  when  that  is  impossible,  we  can  present 
for  his  consideration  ideal  situations  which  correspond  to  those 
which  he  will  later  find.  The  possibilities  of  presenting  pre- 
cisely the  test  which  he  will  meet  and  is  meeting  in  life  are,  I 
believe,  much  greater  than  most  examiners  suspect.  We 
have  discovered  after  many  years  that  the  best  test  of  a  child's 
abihty  to  spell  in  the  only  situation  in  which  he  will  ever  need 
to  spell  is  to  test  him  in  that  situation ;  i.e.  by  judging  his  ability 
in  writing  words  in  connected  discourse.  The  way  to  discover 
whether  one  can  speak  or  write  grammatically  is  to  listen  to  him 
speaking  or  reading  what  he  has  written,  and  not  to  ask  him  to 
recite  rules  of  grammar.  The  only  real  test  of  a  child's  abihty 
to  give  adequate  oral  expression  to  the  story  or  poem  is  to  see 
whether  or  not  he  can  make  clear  the  thought  and  furnish 
enjoyment  to  others,  preferably  to  those  who  have  not  before 
heard  the  selection  which  he  reads.  We  can  assure  ourselves 
that  we  have  awakened  an  interest  in  literature  and  history, 
when  we  know  that  children  read  good  books  other  than  those 
which  we  compel  them  to  read.  The  success  of  manual  work, 
the  time  spent  in  art  or  music,  ought  certainly  to  be  measured 
by  abihty  to  make  and  to  decorate,  the  singing  of  songs,  and 
the  desire  to  hear  music,  or  to  see  pictures.  The  more  occa- 
sions that  can  be  found  for  the  application  of  the  arithmetic  we 
teach  in  actual  measurements  and  computations  which  have 
real  significance  to  children,  the  better  will  children  under- 
stand their  work,  and  the  more  certain  we  can  be  of  their  fu- 
ture efficiency.^  It  is  coming  to  be  a  recognized  principle  of 
nature  study  that  the  common  things,  the  animals  and  plants 
which  are  significant  for  our  hving,  are  the  ones  which  should 

ID.  E.  Smith  and  F.  M.  McMurry,  "Mathematics  in  the  Elementary 
School,"  Teachers  College  Record,  Vol.  IV,  No.  2 ;  D.  E.  Smith,  "The  Teaching 
of  Arithmetic,"  Teachers  College  Record,  Vol.  X,  No.  i. 


I04     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

engage  our  attention ;  and  we  expect  that  children  will,  on 
account  of  the  teaching,  enjoy  more,  take  better  care  of,  and 
utiUze  to  better  advantage  the  plant  a.nd  animal  life  with  which 
they  come  in  contact.  Even  in  such  subjects  as  history  and 
geography,  one  can  hope  to  find  just  such  applications  while 
the  child  is  studying  as  are  apt  to  occur  in  his  later  life.  The 
presentation  of  the  results  of  the  study  of  a  country  to  a  school 
assembly  with  the  aid  of  pictures  and  a  lantern,  or  the  inter- 
pretation of  current  events  in  the  light  of  their  geographic 
setting  will  afford  no  mean  test  of  the  children's  knowledge  of 
geography.  The  comparison  of  to-day's  happenings  in  the 
light  of  the  events  of  a  decade  or  a  century  ago ;  the  explana- 
tion of  the  historical  reference  in  the  period  devoted  to  Htera- 
ture ;  the  writing  and  presentation  of  a  historical  drama,  will 
afford  as  great  application  of  one's  knowledge  as  most  of  us 
ever  make. 

Work  of  the  sort  indicated  above  will  not  only  serve  to  test 
the  value  of  the  work  that  children  have  done,  but  will  also 
add  greatly  to  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  with  which  children 
do  their  work.  We  can  scarcely  hope  that  all  examinations 
will  satisfy  this  ideal;  but  of  this  we  can  be  sure,  the  more 
work  of  this  kind  we  do  with  our  pupils,  the  firmer  will  be  their 
grasp  upon  their  work  and  the  greater  is  apt  to  be  their  power 
to  satisfy  even  less  adequate  tests. 

Examinations  have  another  function  which  we  as  teachers 
should  not  overlook.  Any  adequate  test  of  children's  abilities 
is  also  a  test  of  our  teaching.  It  v/ill  probably  not  be  best  for 
us  to  try  to  defend  ourselves  by  pleading  the  inadequacy  of 
the  test,  nor  the  backwardness  of  the  pupils  when  they  come 
to  us,  nor  their  parentage,  nor  any  other  less  common  reason. 
If  children  do  not  write  as  well  as  they  should,  if  they  misspell 
words  they  commonly  use  in  their  written  work,  if  they  can- 
not tell  the  story,  recite  the  poem,  solve  the  problem,  describe 
the  geographical  area,  or  relate  the  events  of  the  historic 
period,  we  had  better  inquire  whether  we  have  helped  them 


Review  or  Exatnination  Lesson  105 

to  work  to  best  advantage,  whether  we  have  clearly  dif- 
ferentiated the  several  aspects  of  our  work  and  have  then 
applied  the  methods  suitable  to  accomplish  the  desired  result. 
There  may  be  mistakes  made,  but,  all  things  else  being  equal, 
the  teacher  who  gets  results  is  the  best  teacher. 

We  shall  do  better  work,  children,  teachers,  and  supervisors, 
when  we  have  provided  for  our  use  more  definite  standards 
or  scales  by  which  to  measure  our  results.  There  is  no  reason 
why  we  should  not  have  a  scale  which  would  enable  us  to  tell 
with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy  just  what  the  standing  of  this 
group  of  children  is  in  writing,  in  ability  to  perform  the  funda- 
mental operations  in  arithmetic,  in  spelling,  in  writing  com- 
positions, in  discussing  the  geography  of  North  America,  in 
decorating  a  cover  for  a  notebook,  or  in  any  other  subject  or 
aspect  of  their  school  work.  Beginnings  have  been  made  in 
this  direction,  and  we  may  hope  for  more  as  time  passes.^ 
As  these  units  of  measure  are  perfected  and  applied  in  examin- 
ing the  results  of  school  work,  we  v/ill,  of  course,  hear  the  cry 
of  those  who  will  tell  us  that  the  best  things  that  a  teacher 
does  cannot  be  measured.  The  obvious  reply  will  be  that 
efficiency  in  accompKshing  results  which  can  be  measured  need 
not  in  any  way  prevent  a  teacher  from  exercising  that  influence 
or  doing  that  sort  of  work  which  is  not  recorded  on  examination 
sheets.  Rather  it  will  be  found,  I  venture,  that  the  efficient 
teachers,  as  measured  by  the  results  which  we  can  test,  are, 
on  the  whole,  the  teachers  that  are  doing  the  noblest  work. 
Strength  of  personaUty,  appreciation  of  child  nature,  a  Ufe 
which  by  its  example  makes  for  truth  and  beauty  in  other  lives, 
are  quaUties  not  uncommon  in  the  teacher  who  is  glad  to  be 
judged  by  the  results  which  pupils  can  demonstrate. 

1  E.  L.  Thorndike,  "Handwriting,"  Teachers  College  Record,  Vol.  XI,  No.  2; 
Stone,  Arithmetical  Abilities  and  Some  of  the  Factors  Determining  them. 


io6     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 


For  Collateral  Reading 

W.  C.  Bagley,  The  Educative  Process,  Chapter  XXII. 
W.  W.  Charters,  Methods  of  Teaching,  Chapter  XI. 

Exercises. 

1.  WTiat  is  the  purpose  of  an  examination? 

2.  Would  you  be  wiUing,  in  a  review  of  a  large  topic  in  history,  to 
demand  fewer  details  than  in  the  original  study  of  the  topic  ? 

3.  What  is  the  value  of  an  outhne  prepared  by  pupils  as  a  part  of 
their  rexaew  work? 

4.  Which  is  the  better  test  of  a  boy's  ability  in  English,  a  high  mark 
in  an  examination  in  grammar,  or  a  well  written  story  of  a  fishing  trip 
written  for  a  school  paper? 

5.  Prepare  a  series  of  questions  which  you  think  might  be  used  to 
advantage  in  the  examination  of  a  class  that  has  been  studying  the 
geography  of  Europe. 

6.  Give  as  many  illustrations  as  you  can  of  the  application  of  the 
knowledge  gained  in  school  to  situations  in  which  the  pupils  use  their 
information  or  skill  to  satisfy  needs  comparable  to  those  which  one 
meets  in  everyday  life. 

7.  What  is  meant  by  sa}dng  that  a  review  should  mean  a  new  view? 

8.  Do  children  commonly  fail  in  examinations  when  they  have  been 
well  taught  ? 

9.  Should  children  be  promoted  solely  upon  the  marks  made  in 
examinations  ? 


10.  A  boy's  average  in  an  examination  was  67  per  cent.  An  examina- 
tion of  the  marks  he  received  showed  the  following  results :  geography 
80  per  cent,  history  100  per  cent,  composition  80  per  cent,  spelling  70 
per  cent,  arithmetic  40  per  cent,  grammar  40  per  cent,  and  drawing 
60  per  cent.  The  passing  mark  was  70  per  cent ;  would  you  have  pro- 
moted the  boy  ? 

11.  How  often  should  reviews  be  conducted  ? 

12.  Should  children  be  notified  in  advance  that  examinations  will  be 
held  on  certain  days  or  weeks  of  the  term? 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  RECITATION  LESSON 

The  recitation  lessorx  as  commonly  conducted  consists  in 
having  children  tell  what  they  have  read  in  their  textbooks. 
Sometimes  the  teacher  accepts  or  even  demands  that  the  pupils 
recite  by  repeating  the  words  of  the  book.  Better  teaching 
requires  rather  that  they  render  the  thought  of  the  author  in 
their  own  language.  In  this  chapter  we  shall  discuss  some  of 
the  worthy  ends  which  may  be  accomplished  by  such  an  ex- 
ercise, some  of  the  common  deficiencies  in  work  of  this  type, 
and  the  modifications  which  are  advisable  in  the  light  of  the 
principles  already  enunciated. 

The  recitation  lesson  commonly  tests  the  pupil's  memory 
for  facts.  The  questions  asked  and  answered  serve  to  reveal 
to  the  teacher  the  knowledge  or  lack  of  it  on  the  part  of  the 
pupil.  In  a  way  this  testing  also  gives  the  teacher  some  idea 
of  the  amount  of  work  done  by  the  pupil.  The  great  weakness 
of  work  of  this  kind  is  found  in  the  tendency  to  demand  and 
to  accept  words,  the  rehearsing  of  facts  unrelated  and  unor- 
ganized. Of  course  this  need  not  be  true,  since  it  is  entirely 
within  the  power  of  the  teacher  to  frame  her  questions  in 
such  a  way  that  the  pupil's  grasp  on  the  whole  topic  rather 
than  his  memory  for  isolated  facts  is  tested. 

The  recitation  which  tests  the  pupil's  ability  to  present  in 
orderly  fashion  the  substance  of  the  thought  found  in  the 
sections  assigned  in  the  book  for  study  is  of  genuine  value. 
The  topical  recitation  affords  an  opportunity  to  develop  on 
the  part  of  children  the  ability  to  stand  on  their  feet  and  speak 
to  a  question  for  some  minutes.  And  it  may  be  suggested  in 
this  connection  that  we  should  develop  more  power  of  this  sort 

107 


io8     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaclmtg  Process 

than  is  commonly  found  in  our  schools.  The  ability  to  express 
one's  self  adequately  on  the  topic  under  consideration  will 
always  make  for  effectiveness  in  social  life.  It  would  be  well 
to  test  the  progress  of  our  pupils  from  grade  to  grade  by  their 
ability  to  speak  more  effectively  and  for  a  longer  period  as 
they  advance  through  the  school,  on  some  topic  connected 
with  their  school  work. 

When  pupils  are  required  not  simply  to  recite  on  some  topic 
which  is  presented  for  their  consideration,  but  are  required 
to  furnish  their  own  outline  and  to  recite  on  the  basis  of  their 
own  organization  of  the  selections  which  they  have  read,  the 
recitation  may  become  a  valuable  exercise  in  thinking.  The 
success  of  work  of  this  kind  will  depend  upon  the  definiteness 
with  which  the  problem  or  aim  of  the  work  has  been  provided. 
It  will  not  require  much  thought  simply  to  follow  the  paragraph 
headings  or  marginal  notes  of  the  author  and  to  present  the 
organization  as  a  basis  for  recitation.  If,  however,  a  problem 
has  been  suggested  the  solution  of  which  may  be  found  in 
the  pages  assigned  for  study,  then  the  recitation  may  test  the 
pupil's  power  to  analyze  and  organize  the  material  which  the 
book  provides.  And  this  is  the  only  test  of  a  thorough 
mastery  of  the  book.  We  do  not  read  to  find  out  everything 
that  an  author  says.  Our  needs  may  demand  a  very  different 
ordering  of  facts,  we  may  use  facts  in  entirely  new  relations,  and 
may  ignore  much  that  was  essential  from  a  different  point  of 
view.  Children  have  read  their  textbooks  thoroughly  when 
they  have  derived  from  these  texts  the  facts  or  ideas  which  are 
essential  in  the  solution  of  their  problem,  the  satisfaction  of  the 
aim  which  they  hope  to  realize. 

This  ability  to  use  to  best  advantage  a  book  is  a  very  valu- 
able accomplishment.  When  the  recitation  lesson  accom- 
plishes this  result,  it  justifies  its  use.  Too  frequently  we  find 
adults  who  seem  to  feel  that  they  must  try  to  gather  all  of  the 
knowledge  and  must  try  to  follow  none  other  than  the  author's 
point  of  view  in  their  reading.     These  persons  read  one  book, 


The  Recitation  Lesson  109 

and,  as  a  result,  believe  one  theory.  It  seems  not  to  disturb 
them  greatly  that  the  next  book  they  read  takes  the  opposite 
point  of  view  and  that  they  range  themselves  on  that  side  of 
the  question.  Books  are,  or  at  least  ought  to  be,  our  servants, 
not  our  masters,  and  in  the  handling  of  books  in  his  regular 
school  work  the  child  ought  to  com.e  to  realize  their  true 
function.  There  is  no  greater  proof  of  a  lack  of  thought  than 
the  ready  acceptance  of  whatever  one  finds  in  print. 

There  is  great  danger  in  the  use  of  textbooks  that  children 
and  teachers  will  become  satisfied  with  words,  that  they  will 
come  to  think  that  the  repetition  of  the  formula  of  the  text- 
book is  proof  of  knowledge.  Textbooks  are  all  too  often 
merely  books  of  texts.  They  have  been  made  frequently 
enough  by  those  who  possess  a  very  wide  knowledge  of  the  field 
in  which  they  write ;  and  by  some  strange  process  of  thought 
they  have  apparently  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  way  to 
make  a  subject  simple  is  to  condense  it.  Many  of  our  most 
used  textbooks  are  merely  summaries  or  outlines  of  the  subject 
treated.  They  lack  richness  of  detail,  and  state  conclusions 
instead  of  furnishing  a  large  number  of  experiences,  from  which 
one  may,  through  processes  of  logical  thought,  derive  the  gener- 
alizations of  the  subject.  Take,  for  example,  most  of  the  text- 
books in  history  for  elementary  schools,  and  read  carefully 
upon  any  topic  selected  at  random,  and  then  ask  yourself  just 
what  these  words  mean  to  twelve-year-old  children ;  or,  better 
still,  ask  these  children  who  repeat  so  glibly  the  words  or  re- 
produce the  statements  of  the  book  just  what  they  mean  by 
the  words  they  use.  Try  to  discover  whether  they  have  any 
adequate  knowledge  of  facts,  or  any  command  of  images, 
which  would  make  possible  the  generalizations  which  they  give 
as  a  result  of  the  process  of  thought.  Remember  that  a  text- 
book is  not  logical  for  children  because  it  has  been  logically 
arranged  by  the  scholar.  The  test  is  rather  to  be  found  in  the 
pupil's  ability  to  reproduce  in  his  own  thinking  the  steps  which 
have  made  possible  the  conclusions  of  the  author. 


no     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

Any  wide-awake  teacher  can  make  her  work  more  interesting 
and  more  significant  for  children,  if  she  will  carefully  provide 
for  the  enrichment  of  the  text.  The  sources  from  which  data 
can  be  gathered,  regardless  of  the  subject  under  consideration, 
are  almost  without  number.  Especially  to  be  recommended 
are  the  standard  works  in  the  subjects.  It  will  be  interesting 
to  discover  that  children  would  rather  read  Parkman  than  to 
study  the  text  in  which  some  less  competent  person  has  en- 
deavored to  tell  his  story  in  a  few  paragraphs  which  mean 
absolutely  nothing  to  the  child.  The  magazines  which  pubHsh 
articles  of  wide  social  interest  will  furnish  much  helpful 
material.  There  is  no  school  that  may  not  greatly  enrich  its 
work  by  an  appeal  to  the  actual  experiences  of  the  children 
and  by  carefully  directed  observations  and  experiments.  We 
need  our  textbooks  as  a  summary,  as  a  convenient  condensed 
outline,  or  as  books  of  reference;  but  we  must  provide  as 
best  we  can  other  books  of  reference  which  will  furnish  the 
details  which  are  impossible  in  the  limited  number  of  pages 
allowed  to  the  text.  In  every  room  of  every  school  a 
library  of  books,  pamphlets,  magazine  articles,  and  illustra- 
tive material  should  be  found,  and  every  teacher  should  expect 
to  increase  this  collection  and  to  improve  its  quaUty  as  the 
years  go  by. 

It  will  give  new  meaning  to  notebooks  and  note-taking,  if 
both  teacher  and  children  realize  that  the  books  thus  prepared 
are  a  real  addition  to  the  texts  used.  A  comparison  of  the 
work  done  by  different  members  of  the  class  will  add  interest 
in  the  work.  One  of  the  greatest  deficiencies  of  the  recitation 
lesson  is  the  danger  that  nothing  new  will  be  presented.  It  is 
not  intellectually  stimulating  to  hsten  to  others  who  repeat 
simply  the  thought  with  which  you  are  already  familiar. 
Where  good  notebook  work  is  done  and  reported  upon,  the 
chance  for  new  ideas,  the  stimulus  to  thought,  through  the 
presentation  of  new  material,  will  greatly  strengthen  the  work. 

A  tendency  in  work  of  this  type  to  accept  vague  and  in- 


The  Recitation  Lesson  ill 

definite  answers  is  another  argument  against  the  recitation 
lesson  which  consists  merely  in  rehearsing  the  words  of  the 
book.  Statements  are  apt  to  be  vague  when  ideas  are  vague, 
and  we  may  not  expect  ideas  to  be  very  clear  when  the  child 
lacks  experience.  The  child's  power  of  expression,  aside 
from  the  difference  in  original  talent  in  this  direction,  is  con- 
ditioned first  of  all  by  his  acquaintance  with  things  and  pro- 
cesses. The  recitation  lesson,  as  it  is  ordinarily  conducted, 
gives  little  opportunity  for  this  sort  of  firsthand  knowledge. 
To  work  at  the  sand  table,  to  construct  with  wood,  clay,  paper, 
or  yarn,  to  experiment,  and  to  observe  carefully  the  working 
of  nature  may  mean  more  for  the  command  of  language  than 
much  more  time  devoted  to  so-called  language  lessons.  But 
the  effective  use  of  such  experience  for  language  growth  de- 
pends in  a  measure  upon  the  requirement  that  the  teacher 
makes  for  adequate  expression.  The  teacher  who  accepts  the 
vague  and  indefinite  answer  encourages  slovenly  habits  of 
expression  and  incidentally  slovenly  habits  of  thought.  It  is 
usually  a  mistake  to  say  to  a  child :  ''I  know  what  you  mean 
even  though  you  have  not  said  it."  Children  are  often  lazy 
enough  to  allow  the  teacher  to  do  their  thinking  for  them,  if 
the  teacher  willingly  accepts  the  burden.  Thinking  is  neces- 
sary for  expression ;  language  is  the  tool  of  thought ;  we  can 
do  no  greater  service  to  children  than  to  hold  them  for  what 
they  say,  give  them  credit  for  the  thought  which  they  express 
and  no  more.  Words  for  children,  as  well  as  for  adults,  are 
used  to  conceal  ignorance  as  well  as  to  reveal  thought.  A  child 
is  quick  to  take  advantage  of  the  teacher  who  will  accept  any 
sort  of  an  answer  and  interpret  it  as  a  statement  containing 
thought.  Indeed,  it  is  possible  that  a  child  may  even  come  to 
think  that  his  incoherent  statements,  his  word  jugghng,  really 
represent  thought. 

Another  danger  in  the  recitation  lesson  is  found  in  the 
tendency  to  develop  the  purely  individualistic  attitude.  If 
excellence  consists  in  endeavoring  to  repeat  more  of  the  book 


112     A  Brief  Coiirse  m  the    Teaching  Process 

statement  than  any  one  else,  manifestly  it  is  your  advantage 
to  hinder  rather  than  to  help  others  in  their  work.  The 
attitude  of  excessive  competition  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  in- 
difference on  the  other,  are  both  avoided  when  children  work 
together  for  common  ends.  The  standard  of  the  school  should 
be  cooperation  and  helpfulness. 

The  recitation  lesson  in  its  least  desirable  aspects  will  not 
disappear  until  all  of  our  teachers  realize  that  teaching  does 
not  consist  in  hearing  lessons.  The  broader  the  training  of 
the  teacher,  the  better  her  understanding  of  child  nature  and 
of  the  meaning  of  education,  the  less  likely  is  she  to  resort  to 
this  method  to  any  considerable  degree.  We  shall,  it  is  true, 
so  long  as  we  use  textbooks,  take  occasion  to  discover  what  use 
children  have  made  of  them  ;  but  this  testing  will  be  incidental 
to  our  teaching,  and  not  the  sum  and  substance  of  it. 


For  Collateral  Reading 
W.  C.  Bagley,  The  Educative  Process,  Chapter  XXII. 

Eocercises. 

1.  Why  is  a  recitation  in  which  the  teacher  asks  fifty  questions  which 
test  the  pupil's  knowledge  of  the  facts  recorded  in  the  book  not  par- 
ticularly valuable? 

2.  Why  ask  pupils  to  recite  by  topics  rather  than  ask  questions  which 
will  bring  out  the  facts  concerning  each  topic  treated  in  the  book  ? 

3.  Discuss  the  use  of  the  textbook  in  teaching  from  the  point  of  view 
of  both  teacher  and  pupil. 

4.  When  have  you  read  a  book  thoroughly?  Ought  we  ever  to  try 
to  remember  all  that  the  book  tells? 

5.  It  is  essential  in  a  democracy  that  people  think  for  themselves; 
how  would  you  develop  this  independent  attitude  in  children  ? 

6.  When  children  say  that  they  know  but  cannot  tell,  how  well 
do  they  know ;   how  clearly  have  they  thought  ? 

7.  If  a  pupil  recites  the  words  of  the  book,  does  he  know  the  subject  ? 
How  would  you  test  further  the  extent  of  his  knowledge  ? 

8.  Find  examples  in  some  textbook  which  you  use  of  statements 
which  mean  little  to  children  who  use  the  books. 


The  Recitation  Lesson  113 

9.  How  would  you  plan  to  supplement  the  textbooks  which  you  use  ? 
Give  examples  ? 

10.  Why  do  children  show  a  lack  of  interest  in  recitations  where  the 
teacher  tests  the  class  on  their  knowledge  of  the  facts  recorded  in  the 
text  ?    How  can  the  situation  be  improved  ? 

11.  Why  is  it  generally  a  mistake  to  interpret  to  the  class  the  an- 
swers given  by  the  pupil  reciting? 

12.  Under  what  conditions  is  it  better  to  have  books  open  in  class 
than  to  test  pupils  on  their  knowledge  of  the  facts  recorded  in  the  text  ? 

13.  If  a  pupil  reproduces  accurately  a  line  of  reasoning  recorded  in 
his  book,  has  he  necessarily  thought  through  the  situation  for  himself  ? 

14.  What  do  the  following  paragraphs  mean  to  a  class  of  pupils  from 
twelve  to  fourteen  years  of  age?  Have  they  definite  images?  Do 
they  fully  understand  what  the  author  means  ? 

''The  Ptiritans.  —  The  New  England  colonies  were  founded  by  English 
Puritans  who  left  England  because  they  could  not  do  as  they  wished  in  the 
home  land.  All  Puritans  were  agreed  in  wishing  for  a  freer  government  than 
they  had  had  in  England  under  the  Stuart  kings,  and  in  state  matters  were 
really  the  liberals  of  their  time.  In  religious  matters,  however,  they  were  not 
all  of  one  mind.  Some  of  them  wished  to  make  only  a  few  changes  in  the 
church.  These  were  called  Non-Conformists.  Others  wished  to  make  so  many 
changes  in  religion  that  they  could  not  stay  in  the  English  State  Church.  These 
were  called  Separatists.  The  settlers  of  Plymouth  were  Separatists;  the 
settlers  of  Boston  and  neighboring  towns  were  Non-Conformists." 

"Unlike  the  poor  humble  Pilgrims  were  the  founders  of  Massachusetts. 
They  were  men  of  wealth  and  social  position,  as,  for  instance,  John  Winthrop 
and  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall.  They  left  comfortable  homes  in  England  to 
found  a  Puritan  state  in  America.  They  got  a  tract  of  land  extending  from 
the  Merrimac  to  the  Charles,  and  westward  across  the  continent.  Hundreds 
of  colonists  came  over  in  the  year  1629-1630.  They  settled  Boston,  Salem, 
and  neighboring  towns.  In  the  next  ten  years  thousands  more  joined  them. 
From  the  beginning  Massachusetts  was  strong  and  prosperous.  Among  so 
many  people  there  were  some  who  did  not  get  on  well  with  the  rulers  of  the 
colony."  1 

Professon  Johnson  asks,  "Do  the  children  see  or  feel  anything  but 
words?  Do  they  see  Puritans?  Do  they  see  anything  that  the  Puri- 
tans might  change  or  any  reason  for  changing  it?  Do  they  see  any- 
thing that  happened  in  America?  ...  But  what  do  the  words 
actually  tell  about  the  circumstances  of  the  Puritans  ?  .  .  .  Can  any 
one  think  that  such  statements  really  convey  information  about  the 
Puritans  to  one  who  is  being  introduced  to  them  for  the  first  time  ? "  * 

^  Quoted  by  Johnson  in  a  monograph  on  "The  Problem  of  Adapting  History 
to  Children  in  the  Elementary  School,"  Teachers  College  Record,  Vol.  IX,  p.  319. 
^  Teachers  College  Record,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  319-320. 


CHAPTER  XI 

QUESTIONING 

In  all  teaching  much  depends  upon  the  skill  with  which  the 
teacher  stimulates  and  guides  the  class  by  means  of  the  ques- 
tions which  she  asks.  Occasionally  one  finds  a  teacher  who 
seems  to  think  that  the  sole  purpose  of  questioning  is  to  test 
the  knowledge  of  her  pupils.  She  asks  hundreds  of  questions 
which  can  be  answered  merely  by  an  appeal  to  the  memory. 
This  sort  of  testing  is  valuable  for  review,  but  it  does  not  neces- 
sitate thought.  When  a  teacher  habitually  asks  these  fact 
questions,  the  children  respond  by  trying  to  remember  the 
words  or  the  facts  given  in  their  books. 

A  type  of  question  still  less  worthy  is  the  direct  question,  — 
the  one  that  can  be  answered  by  yes  or  no.  The  teacher  who 
asks,  ''Is  Albany  on  the  Hudson  River?"  does  not  expect  the 
children  to  think.  If  they  are  fairly  bright,  they  will  probably 
guess  from  her  inflection  whether  the  answer  is  yes  or  no. 
In  any  event,  after  one  guess  has  been  made  there  is  only  one 
alternative,  and  the  pupil  who  answers  second  often  deceives 
both  the  teacher  and  himself  into  thinking  that  he  really  knew 
the  answer.  The  question  which  suggests  an  alternative  is 
in  effect  the  same  as  a  direct  question  with  its  alternative 
answer  of  yes  and  no.  ''Does  the  earth  turn  on  its  axis  from 
east  to  west  or  from  west  to  east?"  is  no  better  than  to  ask, 
*'Does  the  earth  turn  on  its  axis  from  west  to  east  ?"  Indeed, 
the  alternative  question  in  the  example  given  is  worse  than 
the  direct  form,  since  it  suggests  a  wrong  answer  which  may 
make  sufficient  impression  to  confuse  the  pupils  when  the 
question  arises  again. 

114 


Questioning  115 

The  leading  or  suggestive  question  is  much  used  by  teachers 
who  attempt  to  develop  with  children  generalizations  for  which 
they  have  do  basis  in  knowledge.  It  is  perfectly  possible  to 
have  children  give  some  sort  of  expression  to  the  most  profound 
generalizations  of  science  or  philosophy,  if  one  is  only  skillful 
in  suggesting  the  answers  which  they  are  to  give.  As  an  ex- 
ample of  this  sort  of  questioning,  the  following  is  taken  almost 
verbatim  from  a  teacher  who  thought  she  was  having  her  chil- 
dren think  about  the  growth  of  plants.  '^Did  you  plant  your 
flowers  where  the  sun  would  shine  on  them  ?  Do  you  think 
plants  would  grow  in  a  very  dark  place?  What  do  plants 
need  to  help  them  to  grow  ?  When  the  ground  gets  dry,  what 
will  you  sprinkle  on  the  ground  to  help  the  plants  to  grow? 
What  do  plants  need  besides  light  to  make  them  grow? 
Would  your  plants  grow  if  it  was  very  cold  ?  What  do  plants 
need  besides  light  and  moisture  to  make  them  grow?"  If 
such  a  series  of  suggestive  questions  is  asked,  the  responses 
will  be  prompt  and  the  waving  of  hands  most  vigorous,  but 
surely  there  has  been  very  httle  necessity  for  thinking  on  the 
part  of  the  children.  This  brings  us  to  the  crux  of  the  whole 
problem.  A  question  in  order  to  be  most  stimulating  must  be 
of  sufficient  scope  to  demand  that  the  experience  of  the  chil- 
dren be  organized  anew  with  reference  to  the  problem  under 
consideration. 

The  teacher  who  wants  to  test  the  quality  of  her  questions 
ought  frequently  to  ask  herself  whether  her  questions  are  of 
sufficient  scope.  If  all  the  children  can  answer  every  question 
asked  immediately,  the  questions  have  not  been  very  success- 
ful from  the  standpoint  of  provoking  thought.  It  takes  time 
to  think.  The  question  of  large  scope  will  be  followed,  not 
by  a  wild  waving  of  hands,  but  rather  by  a  period  of  quiet 
reflection.  The  teacher  who  was  trying  to  have  her  pupils 
think  about  the  conditions  of  plant  growth  should  have  asked 
one  or  two  thought-provoking  questions  instead  of  the  larger 
number  of  suggestive  questions.     She  might  have  put  the  fol- 


Ii6     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

lowing  questions :  What  have  you  known  any  one  to  do  to  get 
good,  strong,  healthy  plants  ?  Would  it  be  possible  to  change 
any  of  these  conditions  and  still  have  the  best  plants  ?  What 
is  necessary  for  the  growth  of  plants  ?  If  questions  similar  to 
the  above  are  asked,  one  might  naturally  expect  children  to 
relate  and  to  compare  experiences,  in  fact,  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem by  bringing  to  bear  as  best  they  could  the  facts  concerning 
plant  growth  which  had  been  observed  in  their  experience.  If 
the  teacher  wants  the  children  to  get  some  adequate  idea  of  a 
mountain,  in  their  work  in  home  geography  she  might  tell 
them  about  it  or  read  them  a  description ;  but  even  after  the 
best  description  she  would  want  to  question  them  in  order  to 
have  them  think  about  the  facts  which  had  been  given.  She 
might  ask :  How  long  do  you  think  it  would  take  a  man  to 
walk  to  the  top  of  a  mountain  ?  What  would  be  the  difficulties 
in  getting  to  the  top  ?  If  you  stood  on  the  top  and  threw  a 
stone,  how  far  down  the  mountain  do  you  think  it  would  go  ? 

To  ask  good  questions  takes  careful  thought  and  planning 
on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  A  half  dozen  thoroughly  good 
questions  often  make  a  recitation  a  most  stimulating  exercise 
in  thinking,  while  the  absence  of  this  preparation  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher  not  infrequently  results  in  the  ordinary  listless 
class  period,  which  may  actually  be  harmful  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  child's  intellectual  growth.  It  would  be  well  for 
every  teacher  to  ask  herself  the  following  questions  when  she 
is  dissatisfied  with  the  results  of  her  teaching :  Were  my 
questions  clear  and  concise  ?  Did  they  challenge  the  attention 
of  all  the  members  of  the  class?  Did  the  children  need  to 
think,  to  organize  their  experience  with  reference  to  the  prob- 
lem in  hand  before  they  answered  ?  Was  the  sequence  good  ? 
Was  it  possible  for  every  child  to  answer  some  of  the  questions  ? 
Did  each  child  have  a  chance  to  answer?  Did  the  children 
ask  questions? — When  children  are  active  mentally,  they  will 
have  questions  to  ask. 

In  asking  questions  much  depends  upon  the  novelty  of  the 


Questioning  1 1 7 

form  in  which  the  question  is  put  or  of  the  issue  which  is 
presented.  The  writer  has  enjoyed  asking  several  groups  of 
teachers  why  they  teach.  The  answers  have  been  most  varied, 
and  on  the  whole  indicate  the  real  attitude  of  these  men  and 
women  toward  their  work.  A  very  different  response  is  se- 
cured, however,  when  you  ask  the  same  groups  to  define  the 
aim  of  education.  They  will  all  profess  that  they  hope  to 
realize  the  aim  of  education  in  their  teaching,  and  that  it  is 
because  they  hope  to  participate  in  the  development  of  socially 
eflScient  men  and  women  that  they  teach ;  always  provided 
you  have  asked  a  question  concerning  the  aim  of  education. 
The  difference  in  the  two  situations  is  accounted  for  by  the 
difference  in  the  wording  of  the  question.  In  the  one  case 
these  teachers  really  asked  themselves  the  question  —  why  do  I 
teach  ?  They  answered  in  terms  of  their  experience.  Some 
taught  for  money,  some  because  it  was  a  respectable  calling, 
some  for  want  of  anything  better  to  do,  some  because  they  liked 
children,  and  some  because  of  their  appreciation  of  the  signifi- 
cance of  education  in  our  modern  democratic  society.  In  the 
other  case,  the  answers  were  given  in  words  conveying  ideas 
which  were  supposed  to  be  those  most  acceptable  to  the  teacher. 
It  is  often  helpful  to  state  the  opposite  of  the  common  ex- 
pression of  a  generalization  and  to  suggest  that  you  are  willing 
to  maintain  this  point  of  view.  The  best  lesson  that  the  writer 
ever  conducted  on  induction  and  deduction  was  begun  with 
the  statement:  ^'Induction  always  begins  with  a  generaliza- 
tion and  moves  to  the  consideration  of  particulars.  Deduction 
always  begins  with  a  particular  and  moves  to  a  generalization." 
The  class  was  excited  because  the  usual  form  of  expression  had 
been  reversed,  and,  before  the  period  was  over,  did  some  think- 
ing about  the  commonly  accepted  definitions  of  induction  and 
deduction.  These  definitions  had  really  been  nothing  but  a  lot 
of  words  to  juggle  with,  rather  than  the  embodiment  of  clear 
ideas.  This  method  of  shock  through  the  unfamiliar  form  of 
the  question,  or  by  means  of  a  statement  which  challenges 


1 1 8     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

atteDtion  because  it  is  seemingly  contrary  to  the  accepted  for* 
mula,  is  one  of  the  surest  means  available  to  the  teacher  who 
would  stimulate  thought. 

It  may  be  objected  by  some  teacher  that  the  form  of  ques- 
tion indicated  above  gives  little  or  no  place  to  the  necessary 
reciting  from  books ;  that  when  one  wants  to  discover  whether 
the  pupils  have  studied  carefully  the  content  of  a  text,  the 
one  way  to  be  sure  is  to  ask  the  fact  question.  In  reply,  it 
may  be  said  that  questions  which  call  for  the  use  or  organiza- 
tion of  facts  demand  not  only  the  knowledge  demanded  by  the 
fact  question,  but  the  more  significant  use  of  these  data.  It  is 
true  that  some  teachers  still  hear  lessons.  On  the  whole,  there 
is  too  much  telling  of  what  the  book  says  and  too  little  teach- 
ing. The  skillful  teacher,  in  the  assignment  of  her  lesson,  will 
give  the  children  problems  concerning  which  they  can  find 
information  in  their  books.  The  recitation  will  demand  the 
answer  to  the  questions  that  have  been  put  previously,  as 
well  as  to  such  other  questions  as  may  be  necessary  in  the 
development  of  these  problems.  If  the  book  is  to  be  given  a 
larger  place,  the  recitation  may  be  topical.  Here,  again,  the 
large  topics  which  are  assigned  should  demand  not  a  repetition 
of  the  headings  and  paragraphs  of  the  book,  but  rather  the  out- 
line furnished  by  the  teacher,  or,  better  still,  made  by  the  class ; 
should  necessitate  a  reorganization  of  the  material  of  the  text. 
There  is  little  use  in  trying  to  furnish  children  with  the  knowl- 
edge of  an  encyclopedia.  They  will  forget  all  except  that 
which  has  become  part  of  a  system  or  scheme  of  ideas  which 
have  meaning  and  significance  because  of  their  organization. 
It  is  true  that  facts  are  the  raw  material  of  thinking,  and  it  is 
equally  true  that  those  facts  which  have  had  some  place  in  our 
thinking  are  the  ones  which  we  retain  for  future  use. 

Aside  from  the  form  of  the  question,  the  teacher  must  con- 
sider the  technique  of  questioning.  One  of  the  most  common 
mistakes  is  to  call  on  the  bright  children  almost  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  less  capable.     The  writer  has  repeatedly  followed  closely 


Questioning  119 

the  distribution  of  questions  among  the  members  of  a  class, 
only  to  discover  that  often  from  one  fourth  to  two  thirds  of 
the  class  were  not  called  upon  at  all,  and  that  generally  three 
fourths  or  more  of  the  questions  were  addressed  to  a  very  small 
number  of  children.  Most  teachers  would  find  it  interesting  to 
keep  a  record  for  a  few  days  of  the  number  of  questions  assigned 
to  each  child.  Such  a  score  would  help  to  explain  the  lack  of 
interest  and  backwardness  of  some  pupils. 

One  hesitates  to  suggest  that  questions  should  not  be  given 
to  the  pupils  in  any  regular  order  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  class  by  rows  of  seats  or  otherwise.  Of  course  the  teacher 
who  does  this  notifies  the  members  of  the  class  that  they  need 
not  be  troubled  about  the  work  until  their  turn  comes.  Almost 
as  bad,  from  the  standpoint  of  maintaining  the  feeling  of  re- 
sponsibiHty  by  the  whole  class,  is  the  method  of  asking  ques- 
tions which  prefixes  the  question  with  the  name  of  the  child 
who  is  to  answer.  When  the  teacher  says,  ^'George,  will  you 
summarize  the  points  which  have  just  been  made,"  John, 
Henry,  Mary,  Catherine,  and  all  the  rest  realize  that  there  is 
nothing  for  them  to  do.  The  teacher  should  rather  announce 
her  question,  and  then  wait  long  enough  for  all  to  be  active 
before  calling  on  any  one. 

Another  source  of  lack  of  attention  is  found  in  the  question 
which  is  repeated.  Children  soon  come  to  know  whether  they 
must  listen  when  the  question  is  first  put,  or  whether  they  may 
wait  imtil  the  second  or  third  statement  before  they  will  be 
called  upon.  There  is  another  weakness  often  shown  in  re- 
peating questions,  viz. :  the  question  is  varied  in  form,  which, 
in  some  cases,  leads  to  confusion  in  the  minds  of  attentive 
pupils,  or  the  different  forms  used  enable  the  child  to  guess  the 
answer  which  is  desired.  To  repeat  questions  is  to  acknowl- 
edge either  that  the  form  in  which  it  was  first  put  was  not 
good  or  that  the  children  were  not  expected  to  attend  to  the 
first  statement  of  the  problem.  Either  alternative  will  be 
avoided  by  a  thoughtful,  well  prepared  teacher. 


I20     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

The  besetting  sin  of  most  teachers  is  the  practice  of  repeat- 
ing the  answers  given  by  children.  If  the  recitation  is  a  place 
where  children  are  to  discuss  their  problems  together,  then 
every  answer  should  be  addressed  to  the  whole  class,  not  to  the 
teacher.  The  teacher  who  repeats  each  answer  cannot  expect 
the  children  either  to  recite  to  the  class  or  to  pay  attention  to 
the  one  who  is  speaking.  Here  is  another  chance  for  an  inter- 
esting experiment.  Score  one  every  time  you  repeat  an  answer, 
and  then  try  to  see  how  soon  you  can  eliminate  this  bad  habit. 
It  is  often  helpful  to  stand  or  sit  in  some  part  of  the  room  not 
directly  in  front  of  the  class.  The  fact  that  the  teacher  is 
among  the  class,  one  of  them  at  least  in  position  in  the  room, 
will  make  it  somewhat  easier  for  children  to  talk  to  the  whole 
group.  This  habit  of  repeating  the  answer  really  grows  out 
of  the  feeling  which  so  many  teachers  have  that  the  function 
of  questions  is  to  test  for  facts,  and  that  in  the  recitation  the 
answer  should  be  addressed  to  the  teacher  and  given  by  her 
to  the  class  so  that  all  may  be  made  aware  of  the  correct  answer. 
The  position  which  has  been  maintained  is  that  the  main  pur- 
pose of  questioning  is  to  stimulate  thought.  Even  if  questions 
were  mainly  useful  as  a  means  of  testing  for  facts,  it  would  still 
be  unwise  to  repeat  the  answers. 

Questioning  by  the  teacher  which  does  not  lead  to  the  asking 
of  questions  by  pupils  is  unsatisfactory.  If  the  children  are 
thinking,  really  trying  to  solve  the  problem  at  issue,  they  will 
have  questions  of  their  own.  If  any  single  test  were  to  be 
applied  to  the  strength  of  the  teacher's  questions,  this  would 
probably  be  best.  Needless  to  say,  the  questions  which  chil- 
dren ask  should,  as  a  rule,  be  addressed  to  the  class,  or  to  some 
one  member  of  the  class,  and  not  to  the  teacher.  Some  of  the 
best  lessons  are  those  which  end  with  children's  questions  still 
unanswered,  these  problems  furnishing  the  point  of  departure 
for  the  study  which  is  to  precede  the  next  day's  work. 

If  any  one  thinks  that  questioning  is  a  simple  matter,  one 
that  deserves  less  consideration  than  has  been  given  to  it,  let 


Questioning  121 

him  sit  down  and  write  four  or  five  good  questions  which  might 
be  used  in  teaching  a  first-grade  lesson  on  the  dog ;  a  fifth-grade 
lesson  on  the  Southern  states ;  a  seventh-grade  lesson  on  mak- 
ing jelly ;  or  a  high  school  class  on  the  law  of  gravity.  The 
teacher  who  will  get  some  one  to  write  down  for  her  the  ques- 
tions which  she  asks  in  a  single  recitation  will  be  surprised 
both  at  the  number  (it  will  be  almost  unbelievably  large)  and 
the  quality  of  the  product. 

There  is  nothing  more  searching  than  to  attempt  to  write 
down  beforehand  the  half  dozen  or  more  pivotal  questions 
which  are  to  be  used  in  a  recitation.  When  the  attempt  is 
made,  any  weakness  in  knowledge,  in  organization  of  subject 
matter,  or  in  appreciation  of  the  pupil's  point  of  view  with 
relation  to  the  material  to  be  presented,  will  become  apparent. 
There  is  no  one  thing  that  a  teacher  can  do  which  will  bring  a 
greater  reward  in  increased  teaching  power,  than  systematically 
to  prepare  questions  for  one  or  more  recitations  each  day.  If 
the  writer  could  be  sure  that  any  group  of  teachers  would  try 
conscientiously  to  improve  in  the  art  of  questioning,  he  would 
be  just  as  sure  that  these  same  teachers  would  be  rated  by  any 
impartial  critic  as  superior  to  those  who  are  willing  to  trust 
to  inspiration  in  this  most  important  part  of  the  teacher's  work. 

For  Collateral  Reading 
J.  A.  H.  Keith,  Elementary  Education,  Chapter  IX. 

Exercises. 

1.  What  is  the  chief  function  of  questioning  ? 

2.  Why  is  the  direct  question  of  little  value  in  teaching? 

3.  Give  examples  of  leading  questions.  Why  should  a  teacher  avoid 
questions  of  this  class  ? 

4.  Write  the  questions  which  you  would  ask  a  class  who  had  read  a 
description  of  a  glacier,  in  order  to  stimulate  their  thought  and  test 
their  knowledge  of  this  topic. 

5.  How  many  questions  did  you  ask  during  one  hour's  work?  Ob- 
serve some  other  teacher,  and  score  the  number  of  questions. 


122     A  Brief  Course  hi  the  Teaching  Process 

6.  Why  is  it  important  to  consider  the  form  or  the  wording  of  the 
question  you  ask? 

7.  How  can  you  challenge  the  attention  of  every  member  of  your 
class  by  the  questions  which  you  ask  ? 

8.  Why  is  it  poor  method  to  repeat  the  answer  given  by  one  of  the  pupils  ? 

9.  Do  your  pupils  recite  to  you,  or  to  the  class  ? 

10.  When  would  you  expect  children  to  ask  questions?  To  whom 
should  such  questions  be  addressed? 

11.  Criticize  the  questions  used  by  the  teacher  in  the  following  steno- 
graphic report  of  a  high  school  recitation  in  Enghsh.  A  lesson  on  the 
old  ballads  has  been  given  before.  The  text  used  was  Seward,  Narra- 
tive and  Lyric  Poems,  pp.  20-35. 

Teacher:  Before  we  begin  to  talk  about  modern  ballads,  let's  see 
what  you  got  from  your  first  impression  of  the  old  ballads  last  time. 
In  the  first  place,  give  four  or  five  subjects  that  the  old  ballad  writers 
were  especially  interested  in. 

Pupil:    Fighting,  principally,  and  some  romance. 

Teacher:  What  do  you  mean  by  romance? 

Pupil:  Romance  —  that  is  all. 

Teacher:  People  meant  different  things  —  fighting,  or  love  —  do  you 
mean  love  ? 

Pupil:  No,  fighting  —  romance.  {Teacher  writes  on  hoard  "  ro- 
mance.") That  is  about  all  I  know,  in  the  first  —  old  ballads ;  oh,  yes, 
one  gruesome  one,  about  c — . 

Teacher:  Corbies? 

Pupil:  Yes. 

Teacher:  Horror,  perhaps. 

Pupil:  Yes. 

Teacher:  Elsworth? 

Elsworth:   It  only  happened  once,  —  lovers  separated  and  met  again. 

Teacher:  Yes.  {Writes  "Fighting,  Tales  of  Horror,  Shipwreck, Parted 
Lovers.")  Is  that  a  fair  hst  ?  I  should  think  so.  Let  us  see  about  the 
spirit  in  which  they  were  written,  that  is,  the  kind  of  qualities  the  people 
in  those  ballads  showed,  and  the  kind  of  qualities  in  human  nature 
people  of  that  day  Hked. 

Pupil:  I  think  bravery. 

Teacher  {writing  "bravery") :  Anything  else? 

Pupil:  A  hero  and  a  villain. 

Teacher:  Hero  and  villain;  in  other  words,  you  take  sides? 

Pupil:  Yes. 

Teacher:  What  other  qualities  besides  bravery? 


Questioning  123 

Pupil:  Treachery,  of  the  kind  in  the  ballad  of  Johnnie  Armstrong. 

Teacher:  Yes,  and  the  hero  shows  what  quahty? 

Pupil:  He  believes  in  the  king  even  when  he  is  summoned  before 
him. 

Teacher:  Good  faith  on  one  side,  and  treachery  on  the  other.  Any- 
thing else  ? 

Pupil:  Honor. 

Teacher:  Honor,  yes.     (TFnVej  "  honor.") 

Pupil:   A  great  deal  of  honor  among  themselves. 

Teacher:  Loyalty  to  each  other;  and  as  regards  their  enemies,  what? 

Pupil:  They  used  to  fight  for  fun,  and  they  had  certain  rules;  they 
were  not  really  angry,  they  had  to  keep  certain  rules. 

Teacher:  In  other  words  ? 

Pupil:  They  couldn't  do  just  as  they  wanted  to. 

Teacher:  There  were  rules  of  honor  even  toward  your  enemy,  a  sort 
of  amateur  spirit. 

Pupil:  Courtesy  to  their  enemies. 

Teacher:  Courtesy,  —  and  perhaps  we  might  say  this  includes  being 
true  to  the  rules.  Could  we  say  anything  about  the  style  in  which 
these  poems  were  written,  kind  of  language,  and  kind  of  verse  form  ? 

Pupil:  Could  be  put  to  music. 

Teacher:  Easy  to  sing,  for  one  thing? 

Pupil:  Yes. 

Teacher:  CompHcated  tunes,  or  simple? 

Pupil:  Simple. 

Teacher:  How  about  the  words,  the  English? 

Pupil:  Old  English  and  Scotch. 

Teacher:   Old  English  and  Scotch;   easy  or  hard  to  understand? 

Pupil:   After  you  have  read  two  or  three,  I  don't  think  it  is  hard. 

Teacher:  If  you  had  been  an  old  Scotchman  of  those  times,  should 
you  say  they  were  written  in  hard  or  easy  language  ? 

Pupil:  Simple,  —  quaint. 

Teacher:  Simple  and  quaint  —  old-fashioned.  Let  us  turn  to  the 
ballads  you  had  for  to-day ;  see  how  they  compare  with  these  old  ones. 
The  first  one,  Lord  Ullin's  Daughter  —  as  regards  the  subject  matter, 
is  it  the  kind  of  story  you  think  would  appeal  to  ancient  writers? 

Pupil:  It  seems  so;  this  one  was  about  an  elopement,  they  seem  to 
write  that  kind  of  story. 

Teacher:  Anything  else  ? 

Pupil:  Shipwreck. 

Teacher:  Do  you  think  the  old  ballad  writers  would  have  been  satisfied 
with  the  way  the  story  came  out  ? 


124     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

Pupil:  I  don't  think  so ;  they  liked  to  see  their  side  win ;  the  lovers 
won  in  this  case,  but  were  drowned ;  I  don't  think  they  would  have 
Uked  it  that  way. 

Teacher:  If  they  are  going  to  get  away  from  the  father,  they  ought 
to  get  away  clear.  I  think  that  is  true ;  things  end  simply  in  the  old 
ballads,  it  is  an  out-and-out  tragedy  or  a  happy  ending. 

Pupil:  They  had  some  death,  like  Johnnie  Armstrong,  where  the  hero 
was  killed. 

Teacher:  How  was  he  killed  ? 

Pupil:  By  treachery. 

Teacher:  Was  there  any  here? 

Pupil:  No. 

Teacher:   Were  they  killed  through  anybody's  fault,  or  by  accident? 

Pupil:  By  accident. 

Teacher:  How  is  it  in  the  old  ballads  ? 

Pupil:   In  the  first  stories  they  were  not,  — a  shipwreck. 

Teacher:  But  in  most  cases  it  is  a  matter  of  somebody's  treachery. 
In  Sir  Patrick  Spence  who  gets  drowned  ? 

Pupil:  The  Scotch  nobles. 

Teacher:  There  it  is  the  lords  and  all  those  other  fine  noblemen. 
As  far  as  the  style  goes  in  Lord  U inn's  Daughter,  should  you  say  that 
the  story  goes  rapidly,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  or  should  you  say  that  if 
an  old  ballad  singer  were  telling  the  story,  there  is  something  that  could 
be  left  out  ? 

Pupil:  I  think  so. 

Teacher:  Can  you  see  any  group  of  verses  that  could  be  left  out 
without  breaking  the  story  up  ? 

Pupil:  I  think  where  it  described  the  boat  {reads) :  — 

"The  boat  has  left  a  stormy  land, 
A  stormy  sea  before  her  — 
When,  oh  !  too  strong  for  human  hand, 
The  tempest  gather'd  o'er  her." 

Those  descriptions  could  be  left  out ;  and  (reads) :  — 

"  For  sore  dismay'd,  through  storm  and  shade, 
His  child  he  did  discover  :  — 
One  lovely  hand  she  stretch'd  for  aid, 
And  one  was  round  her  lover." 

Teacher:  You  think  the  picture  of  how  she  looked  in  the  boat  does 
not  count  ? 

Pupil:   I  like  it,  but  it  could  have  been  left  out. 


Questioning  125 

Teacher:  The  old  ballad  singers  would  have  left  out  that  part.  Are 
there  things  in  the  earher  part  of  the  poem  that  could  be  left  out  if  you 
just  wanted  the  story  ? 

Pupil:  The  first  verse. 

Teacher:  Better  if  they  got  started  at  once,  perhaps.     Miss  Weiss? 

Miss  W. :  The  third  verse :  — 

"  And  fast  before  her  father's  men 
Three  days  we've  fled  together, 
For  should  he  find  us  in  the  glen. 
My  blood  would  stain  the  heather." 

He  says  right  after  that  that  the  horses  are  right  behind  him,  so  he 
could  have  left  that  out. 

Teacher:  He  spends  too  much  time  in  talking  to  the  boatman,  that  is 
true. 

Pupil:  The  seventh  verse. 

"  By  this  the  storm  grew  loud  apace. 
The  water-wraith  was  shrieking ; 
And  in  the  scowl  of  Heaven  each  face 
Grew  dark  as  they  were  speaking." 


Teacher:  You  can't  help  wondering  why  they  didn't  get  in  the  boat, 
and  stop  talking.  The  old  ballad  writers  pared  it  all  down  to  nothing 
but  the  story.  Turn  to  the  next  one,  — Lady  Clare;  would  that  have 
pleased  the  old  ballad  writers  ? 

Pupil:  I  think  it  would  have.  It  is  just  the  kind  of  love  story  they 
liked,  —  it  all  turned  out  well. 

Teacher:  Turns  out  well  in  the  end;  and  in  it  the  lovers  show  what 
kind  of  quaUties  ? 

Pupil:  Faithful. 

Teacher:  You  like  that? 

Pupil:  Yes. 

Teacher:  The  sort  of  things  anybody  would  like,  all  the  admirable 
qualities  of  a  good  love  story.  I  wonder  if  any  one  noticed  the  language 
of  this  poem,  anything  that  would  show  that  Tennyson  was  trying  to 
imitate  the  language  of  the  old  ballads  ? 

Pupil:    "I  trow  they  did  not  part  in  scorn." 

Teacher:    "I  trow"  —  that  sounds  old-fashioned.     Anything  else? 

Pupil:  The  way  he  brings  in  the  nurse :  — 


126     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

"In  there  came  old  Alice  the  nurse,  i 

Said,  '  Who  was  this  that  went  from  thee  ? '  i 

'It  was  my  cousin,'  said  Lady  Clare;  | 

'To-morrow  he  weds  with  me '"  \ 

And  "thee"  and  "thou." 

Teacher:  How  about  the  word  "Said  " ;  has  that  any  subject ?  ; 

Pupil:   "  AUce  the  nurse"  is  subject  of  both  came  and  said.  | 

Teacher:  Yes:  anything  else ?  ■ 

Pupil:  The  last  of  that  verse,  "To-morrow  he  weds  with  me."  ; 
Teacher:   That  sounds  old-fashioned ;   any  thing  else  ? 
Pupil:  Some  of  the  repetition. 

Teacher:  What  line?  ■'. 

Pupil:   "Are  ye  out  of  your  mind,  my  nurse,  my  nurse?"  j 

Teacher:  And  "Yet  here's  a  kiss  for  my  mother  dear,  \ 

My  mother  dear,  if  this  be  so,"  \ 

sounds  like  the  kind  of  repetition  a  man  would  make  on  a  guitar,  or  j 

something  like  that.  : 

"'Play  me  no  tricks,'  said  Lord  Ronald,  i 

'  For  I  am  yours  in  word  and  in  deed.  | 

Play  me  no  tricks,'  said  Lord  Ronald,  J 

'Your  riddle  is  hard  to  read.' "  \ 

\ 

It  comes  again  and  again.     When    you  come  to  Lucy  Gray,  a  poem  i 

which  was  very  famous,  and  which  is,  perhaps,  a  little  hard  to  get  the  j 

real  spirit  of  at  first;  did  any  one  feel  especially  attracted  by  that?  j 

Miss  Graves  ?     What  did  you  like  about  it  ?  ; 

Miss  G. :    It  was  entirely  different  from  the  others,  —  the  way  it  ; 
turned  out,  —  well,  just  the  description  in  everything,  —  the  snow,  — 

then,  it  seemed  to  go  easier  than  the  others.  ; 

Teacher:   We  have  rather  taken  it  for  granted  all  along  that  all  these 

were  very  easy,  —  easy  to  sing.  j 

Pupil:   I  don't  think  the  later  ballads  are  nearly  as  easy  to  sing  as  \ 

others,  I 

Teacher:  You  think  this  Lucy  Gray  is  different,  you  like  the  descrip-  ! 

live  verses  in  it?    Any  special  phrases  or  description  that  particularly  j 

struck  you.  Miss  Graves  ?  ' 

Miss  G. :  I  don't  see  any  just  now  — 

Teacher:  Any  one  happen  to  remember  any?  . 

Pupil:  "The  minster-clock  has  just  struck  two."  | 

Teacher:  Miss  Thibaut  ?  I 

9 


Questioning  1 2  7 

Miss  T.:  "Her  feet  disperse  the  powdery  snow, 

That  rises  up  Uke  smoke." 
Teacher:  "Her  feet  disperse  the  powdery  snow, 

That  rises  up  like  smoke." 

Would  that  be  in  place  in  one  of  the  old  ballads  ?  They  weren't  inter- 
ested in  the  appearance  of  the  snow  very  much.     Miss  Weiss  ? 

Miss  W.:  I  think  I  like  this  ballad  because  it  leaves  something  to 
the  imagination,  the  rest  tell  you  everything ;  it  doesn't  say  surely  that 
she  is  still  ahve,  it  leaves  it  to  you  to  think  about  it. 

Teacher:   Do  you  think  Wordsworth  himself  thinks  she  is  still  alive? 

Pupil:  I  think  he  does ;  I  don't  know  if  he  does,  but  I  think  he  does. 

Teacher:  In  this  remote  country  region,  the  people  who  would  main- 
tain that  she  was  alive  would  be  —  ? 

Pupil:  The  country  people. 

Teacher:  What  is  Wordsworth's  attitude? 

Pupil:  I  don't  think  he  credits  it  very  much;  I  think  he  respects  it, 
but  I  don't  think  he  credits  it. 

Teacher:  He  doesn't  tell  you  whether  he  expects  you  to  believe  it 
or  not ;  but  at  any  rate,  there  is  a  fineness  of  feeling  toward  the  coun- 
try people  that  makes  him  respect  the  country  superstition. 

Pupil:  I  think  she  must  have  been  lost,  because  if  she  hadn't,  she 
might  have  come  back  to  her  mother  and  father. 

Teacher:  Of  course,  your  imagination  there  is  piecing  it  out;  Words- 
worth doesn't  tell  you  out  and  out  that  she  was  drowned. 

Pupil:  I  think  he  does;  he  says  her  footsteps  stopped  in  the  middle 
of  the  plank,  and  something  must  have  happened  there. 

Teacher:  The  actual  drowning  was  not  described;  you  cannot  help 
feeling  that  in  the  old  ballads  they  would  have  given  you  a  full  descrip- 
tion, like  Sir  Patrick  S pence;  the  ballad  ends  how? 

Pupil:  Wordsworth  was  not  trying  to  imitate  the  old  ballads,  was 
he? 

Teacher:  No;  it  is  a  good  deal  further  away  from  the  old  ballads 
than  the  others  we  have  had ;  it  is  a  more  imaginative  poem,  more  beauty 
of  phrasing  and  thought.  Any  other  questions  or  comments  about 
Lucy  Gray? 

Pupil:  I  like  this  verse :  — 

"They  follow'd  from  the  snowy  bank 
Those  footmarks,  one  by  one, 
Into  the  middle  of  the  plank ; 
And  further  there  were  none." 


128     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

Teacher:  You  think  that  is  because  of  the  things  Wordsworth  does 
not  say,  the  fact  that  he  keeps  a  certain  amount  to  himself  ? 

Pupil:  Yes. 

Teacher:  That  quaHty  of  reticence,  isn't  it?  How  is  it  in  modern 
times ;  have  you  noticed  how  you  respect  people  who  do  not  say  quite 
all  they  feel;  they  keep  their  deepest  feelings  largely  to  themselves, 
and  you  can  only  guess  at  it  by  what  is  left  unsaid  ?  Are  the  kind  of 
people  who  are  represented  in  this  poem  the  sort  of  people  you  ordi- 
narily encounter  in  the  old  ballads  ? 

Pupil:  I  don't  think  we  do;  the  chief  characters  were  the  nobles 
and  barons,  the  highest  people  in  England  and  Scotland. 

Teacher:  These  people  were  what? 

Pupil:  Common  people. 

Teacher:  You  get  that  from  what  phrase  in  the  poem?    Any  one? 

Pupil:  Just  after  he  asked  her  to  go  for  her  mother:  "At  this  the 
father  raised  his  hook  " ;  he  wouldn't  have  done  that  if  he  hadn't  been 
a  working  man. 

Pupil:  I  don't  think  he  would  have  sent  Lucy  Gray  after  her  mother 
in  the  snow ;  they  would  have  been  riding  in  a  coach  and  four. 

Teacher:  How  is  it  with  some  of  the  other  early  writers?  Was 
Shakespeare  more  interested  in  common  people  or  wealthy? 

Pupil:  Wealthy.! 

The  questions  and  answers  quoted  represent  about  two  thirds  of  the 
work  of  a  period. 

Note  the  number  of  questions,  their  scope,  the  amount  of  thought 
necessary  on  the  part  of  the  pupils,  the  explanations  offered  by  the 
teacher,  and  the  relative  amount  of  talking  done  by  teacher  and  pupils. 

*  "Stenographic  Reports  of  High  School  Lessons,"  Teachers  College  Record, 
September,  1910,  pp.  18-26. 


CHAPTER  XII 

SOCIAL  PHASES   OF   THE  RECITATION 

Emphasis  has  already  been  given  to  the  social  aim  in  educa- 
tion. This  chapter  will  discuss  in  some  detail  the  possibility  of 
realizing  this  aim  through  the  conduct  of  the  recitation.  The 
real  advantage  to  be  derived  from  grouping  children  in  classes 
is  found  in  the  opportunity  which  is  afforded  for  exchange  of 
ideas.  A  group  of  children  seated  with  faces  to  the  front  re- 
sponding to  the  teacher's  questions  and  anxious  only  for  her  ap- 
proval is  an  educational  anomaly.  The  recitation  is  more  than 
a  place  for  the  teacher  to  test  the  knowledge  of  the  children, 
or  to  explain  to  them  as  a  group  some  phase  of  their  work 
with  which  they  have  had  difficulty.  It  maybe  well  to  inquire 
concerning  the  motives  which  operate,  the  activities  present, 
and  the  results  commonly  achieved  by  the  recitation. 

In  many  classes  children  seem  to  feel  that  the  main  purpose 
of  the  recitation  is  to  please  the  teacher.  Nor  is  the  teacher's 
attitude  different.  She  praises  or  blames  in  proportion  as  the 
children  answer  her  questions  or  follow  her  directions.  Of 
course  there  are  times  when  it  is  the  main  business  of  the 
teacher  to  test  children  or  to  direct  their  activity ;  but  more 
commonly  it  is  the  office  of  the  teacher  to  work  as  a  member  of 
a  group  who  are  working  together  for  the  realization  of  some 
worthy  end.  Both  teacher  and  pupil  should  be  pleased  when 
progress  is  being  made  in  the  work  at  hand  because  of  the 
active  participation  of  all  of  the  members  of  the  group. 

There  are  other  motives  commonly  operating  which  are 
even  less  worthy  than  that  of  pleasing  the  teacher.  Children 
not  infrequently  are  somewhat  attentive  to  the  work  of  the 
K  129 


130     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

class  because  they  fear  the  punishment  which  follows  failure. 
The  more  ambitious,  on  the  other  hand,  come  to  look  upon 
the  recitation  as  an  opportunity  to  display  their  superiority. 
They  believe,  and  too  often  they  are  right,  that  the  chief  end  of 
school  work  is  to  get  ahead  of  some  one  else,  —  to  get  a  higher 
mark.  In  each  of  the  cases  mentioned,  the  motive  is  essen- 
tially individualistic.  Better  have  the  boy  at  work  in  order 
to  please  the  teacher  than  to  have  him  idle ;  better  use  punish- 
ments and  rewards  and  secure  some  results  in  knowledge  and 
habits  than  to  fail  of  these  desirable  ends :  but  the  socializa- 
tion of  the  boy  and  the  maximum  of  intellectual  activity  for 
each  member  of  the  group  can  only  be  brought  about  in  a  situa- 
tion which  is  genuinely  social. 

What  could  be  more  natural  than  that  children  should  ask 
each  other  questions ;  that  they  should  exchange  experiences ; 
that  they  should  work  in  cooperation  for  the  satisfaction  of  a 
common  end  ?  This  presupposes  that  they  have  a  problem  or 
purpose  which  is  genuine.  But  that  is  only  to  assume  that 
there  is  some  real  reason  for  intellectual  activity.  Or  let  us 
suppose  that  the  children  are  at  work  in  order  that  the  product 
of  their  effort  may  be  used  in  some  social  situation.  It  is  not 
particularly  difficult  under  such  conditions  to  get  the  liveliest 
kind  of  discussion,  to  secure  the  most  earnest  cooperation,  or 
to  have  pupils  themselves  accept  in  a  considerable  measure 
the  responsibility  for  progress  in  their  work. 

This  difference  in  attitude  toward  school  work,  if  once  es- 
tablished, is  apparent  in  all  subjects.  The  work  of  a  class  in 
reading  or  literature  will  be  transformed  when  children  work 
together  to  understand  and  appreciate  its  content.  Instead  of 
the  complaint  that  John  has  lost  the  place,  it  will  be  discovered 
that  he  not  infrequently  has  a  question  to  ask,  or  that  he  can 
contribute  an  explanation.  The  writer  has  seen  a  class  of 
third-grade  children  as  active  in  questioning  each  other  con- 
cerning a  reading  lesson  as  they  were  on  the  playground  in  in- 
quiring concerning  the  games  they  played  or  the  novel  expe- 


Social  Phases  of  the  Recitation  131 

tiences  in  which  they  were  interested.  The  teacher  had  attained 
this  result  by  making  the  children  understand  that  they  ought 
to  ask  each  other  questions  when  they  did  not  understand  the 
thought  expressed  in  their  books,  and  that  one  of  the  best  ways 
to  explain  was  to  tell  of  a  similar  experience  which  they  had  had. 

In  a  class  in  nature  study  in  a  fourth  grade  a  boy  told  a 
wonderful  story  of  the  activities  of  a  squirrel.  Ordinarily  the 
teacher  might  have  been  expected  to  tell  the  boy  that  the  story 
was  untrue  and  that  she  did  not  want  that  kind  of  stories.  In 
this  class,  however,  the  children  felt  responsible  for  the  con- 
tributions which  were  made.  The  story  had  no  sooner  been 
told  than  the  narrator  was  plied  with  questions.  Where  had 
he  seen  the  squirrel  ?  On  what  kind  of  a  tree  ?  What  was  the 
color  of  the  squirrel  ?  Just  when  did  the  events  related  hap- 
pen ?  The  boy  could  not  answer  these  questions  satisfactorily, 
and  finally  admitted  that  his  story  had  a  very  slight  basis 
in  fact.  The  rebuke  thus  administered  by  his  classmates 
probably  did  more  toward  giving  this  boy  respect  for  truth  than 
a  dozen  statements  by  the  teacher  that  his  contribution  was 
unsatisfactory. 

In  an  eighth-grade  class  the  children  were  discussing  the 
panic  of  '73.  One  of  the  boys  maintained  that  the  causes 
of  panics  were,  in  general,  the  same,  regardless  of  the  ac- 
tivities of  a  few  individuals  occupying  important  positions 
in  government  or  in  the  commercial  world.  His  contention 
was  mainly  that  it  was  unfair  to  charge  a  president  or  a  politi- 
cal party  with  the  distress  occasioned  by  a  panic,  when  in  real- 
ity the  cause  was  to  be  found  in  economic  conditions  over 
which  neither  president  nor  party  had  control.  One  of  the 
girls  in  the  class  objected,  and  cited  as  proof  the  panic  of 
^37,  which  she  claimed  was  caused  by  President  Jackson. 
The  teacher  could  have  settled  the  question  immediately  by 
an  authoritative  statement,  which  most  classes  of  children 
would  have  accepted.  In  this  class,  however,  the  teacher  en- 
couraged the  class  to  participate  in  the  discussion.     In  the 


132     A  Brief  Course  hi  the   Teaching  Process 

end  the  members  of  the  class  consulted  textbooks  and  othei 
more  complete  histories,  and  reached  their  own  decision  with 
comparatively  little  help  from  the  teacher.  The  value  of 
this  work  in  history  consisted  mainly  in  the  fact  that  the  chil- 
dren, having  once  discovered  the  problem,  felt  responsible 
for  its  solution.  They  were  engaged  in  the  Hveliest  kind  of 
thinking  and  discussion.  They  were  learning  where  to  go, 
and  what  materials  to  use  in  the  solution  of  this  kind  of  prob- 
lem. 

Possibly  work  in  the  industrial  arts  offers  the  very  best 
chance  for  group  work.  At  every  turn  in  work  of  this  kind 
there  is  the  demand  for  careful  planning  involving  discussion  of 
ways  and  means,  and  for  cooperation  in  the  execution  of  the 
plan.  A  group  of  second-grade  children  were  occupied  most 
profitably  with  the  partial  furnishing  and  daily  care  of  the 
teacher's  rest  room.  They  had  first  of  all  to  decide  what  they 
could  do  to  make  the  room  more  comfortable  or  more  beautiful. 
They  decided  that  they  could  make  pillow,  table,  and  couch 
covers,  and  window  curtains,  and  that  they  could  keep  the 
room  clean.  In  determining  materials  and  design,  as  well  as 
in  the  execution  of  the  work  itself,  there  was  need  for  coopera- 
tion. The  children  gained  not  only  in  appreciation  of  some  of 
the  elements  of  home-making,  but  also  in  ability  to  plan  and  to 
work  together.  They  were  being  socialized  both  by  the  con- 
tent of  their  work  and  by  the  method  employed  in  executing  it. 
Another  group  of  children,  fifth  grade,  spent  a  number  of 
weeks  working  together  in  planning  and  building  a  playhouse 
for  the  first  grade.  A  wide-awake  teacher  enlisted  the  coopera- 
tion of  three  grades  in  the  making  and  selling  of  candy  in  order 
to  get  money  enough  to  buy  pictures  for  the  school.  The 
preparation  of  a  picnic  luncheon,  or  meal  for  guests  invited  by 
the  cooking  class,  the  making  of  a  large  rug  from  many  smaller 
rugs  woven  in  such  a  way  as  to  contribute  to  the  pattern  of  the 
final  product,  the  building  of  window  boxes,  the  writing  of  the 
account  of  an  excursion  or  other  school  exercise  in  order  that 


Social  Phases  of  the  Recitatio7t  133 

the  best  results  may  be  brought  together  in  the  final  account 
which  is  to  be  used  in  a  school  paper,  are  examples  of  the  kind 
of  work  which  may  involve  the  kind  of  activity  v/hich  makes 
for  present  social  efficiency,  and,  therefore,  for  that  social  effi- 
ciency which  it  is  the  ultimate  purpose  of  education  to  achieve. 

One  of  the  best  ways  to  transform  the  recitation  from  a  place 
where  lessons  are  heard  to  an  active  social  group  is  to  plan 
definitely  for  a  variety  of  contributions  from  the  individual 
members  or  small  groups  of  the  class.  When  each  member  of 
the  class  studies  the  same  pages  of  the  same  book,  there  is  little 
incentive  either  to  try  to  tell  well  what  the  book  contributes 
to  the  problem  in  hand,  or  to  Hsten  to  the  recitation  of  one's 
classmates.  If,  however,  one  group  of  children  have  been  re- 
ferred to  one  book,  another  to  a  second  book,  and  still  another 
to  a  magazine  article,  to  pictures,  or  other  objective  represen- 
tation, there  is  some  reason  why  each  should  do  his  best  in 
reporting,  and  a  genuine  motive  for  following  closely  the  con- 
tribution of  each  member  of  the  class  during  the  recitation  is 
provided.  Work  of  this  sort  is  easily  available  in  history, 
geography,  nature  study,  or  manual  training. 

In  the  subjects  which  seem  to  lend  themselves  less  easily  to 
variety  in  assignment,  many  possibilities  will  be  found  by  the 
teacher  who  is  anxious  to  prove  the  efficiency  of  this  method. 
The  best  reading  that  the  writer  has  ever  seen  in  a  third  grade 
was  done  by  children  who  read  to  each  other.  They  used  the 
readers  in  the  school  and  books  from  home  and  from  the  public 
library.  Each  child  was  permitted  to  make  a  selection  and 
submit  it  to  the  teacher  for  approval.  Then  came  the  period 
of  preparation,  extending  often  over  two  or  three  days  or  even  a 
week.  During  this  time  the  child  was  supposed  to  study  the 
selection  carefully,  learn  the  pronunciation  of  difficult  words,  and 
practice  reading  the  selection  so  that  he  might  give  pleasure 
to  those  for  whom  the  reading  was  done.  The  one  good  reason 
for  reading  aloud  is  to  read  to  an  audience  who  cares  to  hear 
what  you  have  to  offer.     These  children  were  participating 


134     ^  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

in  a  social  situation  which  demanded  much  of  them,  and  they 
enjoyed  the  hard  work  which  was  necessary  because  the  motive 
back  of  it  all  was  genuine.  In  arithmetic,  if  arithmetic  deals 
with  the  quantitative  aspect  of  the  experiences  which  the  chil- 
dren are  having,  it  will  be  possible  to  allow  for  some  variety 
in  the  work  which  is  assigned.  If  the  problems  are  real,  there 
will  be  a  considerable  interest  manifested  by  the  children  in  the 
solution  of  the  problem  and  the  results  which  are  secured. 
Suppose  a  class  were  given  a  list  of  the  articles  which  are  to  be 
put  in  a  Thanksgiving  basket,  with  instructions  to  find  the  cost 
of  the  basket  so  that  a  friend  may  pay  for  one  of  the  donations 
which  the  class  plans  to  distribute.  In  such  a  situation  the 
children  will  be  most  eager  to  compare  prices  and  total  cost 
when  the  class  next  meets  for  the  arithmetic  lesson.  Of  course 
the  carping  critic  will  say  that  it  is  easy  to  devise  a  few  cases 
of  the  sort  listed  above,  but  that  in  real  school  work  you 
haven't  time  to  make  such  plans.  The  only  answer  is  that 
the  difference  between  superior  teaching  and  the  kind  that  one 
sees  all  too  commonly  is  found  in  the  ability  and  willingness  of 
the  artistic  teacher  to  be  more  nearly  true  to  her  ideals  than 
are  others.  Any  teacher,  who  is  sufficiently  interested,  can 
find  many  situations  in  which  she  can  vary  the  work  of  the 
class  in  such  a  way  that  the  recitation  period  shall  become  a 
place  where  each  member  of  the  class  brings  his  individual 
contribution. 

Possibly  the  greatest  need  in  our  schools  to-day  is  for  more 
purposeful  work  for  children.  We  are  so  much  concerned 
about  the  many  things  which  children  ought  to  know  that  we 
are  tempted  to  spend  most  of  the  time  drilling  children  on  facts 
which  have  very  little  meaning  for  them.  The  demand  that 
the  school  be  sociahzed  is  only  another  way  of  saying  that  the 
work  of  school  children  should  function  in  the  school  itself  and 
in  their  lives  outside  of  school.  It  has  seemed  possible,  in  a 
few  schools,  to  give  children  opportunity  in  the  industrial 
arts  to  work  at  making  something  which  they  really  want  for 


Social  Phases  of  the  Recitation  135 

themselves,  or  upon  a  project  which  may  involve  the  welfare 
of  the  group,  as,  for  example,  when  they  work  upon  school 
apparatus  or  furniture.  An  eighth-grade  group  of  boys  made 
the  furniture  for  the  principal's  office ;  the  children  at  Hyannis, 
Massachusetts,  make  baskets,  brooms,  hammocks,  raise  vege- 
tables, build  a  boat  or  a  fence,  as  occasion  demands.^  At 
Tuskegee  the  more  mature  students  have  even  burnt  the 
bricks  and  constructed  the  buildings  for  the  school. 

If  a  significant  project  in  the  industries  is  undertaken,  it 
may  furnish  the  motive  for  doing  work  along  many  lines.  The 
raising  of  vegetables  may  involve  arithmetic  in  the  measuring 
of  beds  and  the  buying  of  seeds,  in  finding  the  value  of  the 
product,  and,  if  the  product  be  sold,  in  the  keeping  of  a  bank 
account.  The  study  of  dairying  might  very  well  involve  a  visit 
to  a  farm ;  the  measuring  of  an  acre ;  the  estimating  of  the 
cost  of  production  of  milk  and  butter ;  and  the  return  from  the 
investment.  The  cost  and  means  of  transportation  might  be 
studied;  a  churn,  butter  bowl,  and  paddle  might  be  con- 
structed; and  finally  a  complete  account  of  these  many  ex- 
periences might  be  written  and  printed.  If  children  are  en- 
gaged in  activities  of  this  sort,  there  will  be  no  question  of  socializ- 
ing the  school.  By  the  very  nature  of  their  activities  children 
will  be  led  to  question  each  other  and  their  teachers ;  they  will 
of  necessity  cooperate  in  those  phases  of  the  work  which  involve 
team  work. 

But  it  is  not  in  the  industrial  arts  alone  that  school  work 
may  deal  with  genuine  situations.  A  good  teacher  finds  a 
hundred  situations  in  which  children  can  write  for  an  audience. 
The  writer  recently  attended  the  closing  exercises  of  an  ele- 
mentary school  where  the  graduating  class  had  composed  a 
play  which  they  presented .  The  main  plot  of  the  story  centered 
in  a  prize  essay  contest,  and,  as  might  be  inferred,  the  essays 
which  were  read  were  those  which  the  children  had  written  dur- 

1  Baldwin,  Industrial  School  Education.  A  most  helpful  discussion  of  indus- 
trial work. 


136     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

ing  the  regular  class  work.  In  geography  the  members  of  a 
sixth-grade  class  prepared  talks  to  accompany  pictures  thrown 
on  the  screen  from  a  lantern.  In  history  certain  incidents  of 
the  period  which  a  class  was  studying  were  dramatized  and 
presented  to  the  whole  school. 

The  president  of  a  water  company  in  a  middle-western  city 
told  the  writer  that  they  kept  things  in  better  shape  at  the  water 
works  since  they  had  agreed  to  allow  the  children  to  come  to 
visit  the  waterworks  whenever  a  teacher  chose  to  bring  a  class. 
In  the  same  city  there  is  an  unusual  number  of  pianos  in  the 
schools,  school  playgrounds  are  being  established,  parents' 
associations  are  active  in  cooperation  with  the  teachers  to  im- 
prove school  conditions.  If  one  were  asked  to  explain  why  the 
schools  in  this  city  are  better,  why  they  are  so  loyally  supported 
and  so  proudly  spoken  of  by  all  classes  of  people,  the  answer 
would  be  found,  I  believe,  in  the  fact  that  there  is  a  closer 
relationship  between  the  school  and  activities  outside  the  school 
in  home  and  city  than  in  most  other  places.  If  teachers  miore 
commonly  had  in  mind  the  needs  of  the  children  during  the 
time  they  are  not  in  the  school,  it  would  be  easier  to  find  situ- 
tions  in  which  the  school  activities  would  be  significant  because 
of  the  genuine  needs  which  are  felt  by  the  children. 

If  there  were  nothing  gained  toward  socializing  children 
through  activities  involving  the  cooperation  of  the  whole  group, 
the  fact  would  remain  that  the  best  type  of  intellectual  activ- 
ity can  be  secured  only  with  this  most  genuine  of  all  incentives. 
Most  people,  even  as  adults,  think  better  when  they  have  some 
one  with  whom  to  discuss  the  problem  in  hand.  It  is  true, 
too,  that  often  the  best  teacher  is  one  whose  experience  is 
somewhat  similar  to  our  own  and  whose  attitudes  and  difficul- 
ties are  similar  to  ours.  Children  can  often  interpret  where 
teachers  fail.  It  cannot  be  too  often  reiterated  that  it  is  the 
chief  business  of  every  teacher  to  render  her  services  unneces- 
sary. If  the  children  taught  are  not  at  the  end  of  any  term's 
work  better  able  to  work  for  themselves,  more  ready  to  take  the 


Social  Phases  of  the  Recitation  137 

initiative,  more  capable  in  defining  their  problems,  in  gather- 
ing data,  and  in  finding  solutions  than  they  were  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  period,  then  the  work  has  been  a  failure.  Creative 
work  ^  is  not  done  when  some  one  stands  over  the  child  and 
dictates  his  every  step,  nor  does  thinking  consist  in  answering 
the  questions  which  a  teacher  may  put  concerning  the  facts 
recorded  in  a  text.  There  is  entirely  too  much  truth  in  the 
charge  which  is  sometimes  brought  against  our  schools,  that 
they  fail  to  keep  alive  the  intellectual  activity  which  is  natural 
to  childhood. 

We  must  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  a  child  who  is 
vigorous  intellectually,  actively  sympathetic  with  those  causes 
which  make  for  the  general  welfare,  and  able  and  willing  to 
work  in  cooperation  with  others,  even  though  this  may  mean  that 
he  subordinate  himself  to  others  for  the  time  being,  is  the  type 
of  individual  upon  which  our  democracy  depends  for  its  per- 
petuation and  for  its  future  progress.  It  is  necessary  to  em- 
phasize the  social  side  of  school  life  because  we  have,  in  our 
anxiety  to  impart  information  and  form  habits,  neglected  this 
aspect  of  school  life.  The  pity  of  it  all  is  that  in  neglecting  the 
child's  social  development  we  have  done  less  efficient  work  in 
the  fields  we  sought  to  emphasize  because  of  the  lack  of  genu- 
ine motive.  Whether  we  are  concerned  with  habits,  with  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge,  with  development  in  clear  thinking, 
or  in  fixing  ideals,  the  maximum  of  return  will  be  secured  in  the 
genuinely  social  situation.  Children  working  together  on  real 
problems  are  being  socialized  through  participation  in  social 
activities.  There  is  no  other  way  in  which  the  school  can 
contribute  so  certainly  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  aim  of 
all  education. 

iW.  S.  Jackraan,  "The  Relation  of  School  Organization  to  Instruction," 
The  Social  Education  Quarterly,  Vol.  I,  pp.  55-69 ;  Scott,  Social  Education. 


138     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

For   Collateral  Reading 

John  Dewey,  Moral  Principles  in  Education,  and  The  School  and 
Society. 

Exercises. 

1.  What  are  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  teaching  a  group 
rather  than  an  individual? 

2.  What  is  the  ideal  relationship  between  teacher  and  pupils? 

3.  Why  should  a  pupil  face  his  classmates  when  he  recites? 

4.  How  could  you  provide  for  class  discussions  with  the  pupils  you 
teach? 

5.  Name  class  projects  which  your  class  has  undertaken  which  in- 
volve cooperation  and  end  in  a  product  which  children  consider  worth 
working  for. 

6.  Why  do  the  household  and  industrial  arts  lend  themselves  es- 
pecially well  to  the  development  of  the  social  phases  of  the  recitation? 

7.  When  should  it  be  wrong  for  one  pupil  to  help  another?  Name 
as  many  occasions  as  you  can  where  you  would  encourage  cooperation 
and  helpfulness. 

8.  Give  an  illustration  of  one  project  which  may  furnish  an  ade- 
quate motive  for  work  in  several  school  subjects. 

9.  Of  what  value  are  associations  of  parents  and  teachers  from  the 
standpoint  of  increasing  the  efficiency  of  school  work  ? 

10.  Why  is  a  genuinely  social  situation  the  best  for  the  development 
of  intellectual  vigor  ? 

11.  Do  you  think  children  ought  to  accept  any  social  responsibility 
outside  of  the  school  and  home? 

12.  How  may  we  hope  to  develop  in  children  the  desire  to  serve, 
the  wilUngness  to  work  for  the  general  good  ? 

13.  How  would  you  change  your  work  in  order  to  accomplish  the 
most  possible  for  the  development  of  children  who  are  now  socially 
efficient  ? 

14.  Ought  ws  to  expect  all  children  to  accept  the  same  social  respon- 
sibilities, either  as  to  kind  or  degree,  in  the  school  or  in  their  out-of- 
school  life? 

15.  If  children  do  not  work  together  for  common  ends  in  our  schools, 
if  the  spirit  of  cooperation  and  service  is  not  present  there,  ought  we 
to  be  surprised  at  the  non-social  or  anti-social  attitude  and  practice  of 
adults  ? 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  PHYSICAL  WELFARE  OF  CHILDREN 

Intellectual  development,  and  more  especially  intellectual 
efficiency,  are  conditioned  in  no  mean  degree  by  one's  physical 
condition.  Schools  have  too  frequently,  and  with  justice, 
been  accused  of  producing  physical  defects  in  children.  It  is 
coming  to  be  recognized  that  we  must  in  increasing  measure 
take  account  of  the  hygienic  conditions  under  which  school 
work  is  done,  as  well  as  provide  for  the  elimination  or  ameliora- 
tion of  physical  defects.  We  now  have  open-air  schools  for 
consumptives,  medical  inspection,  and  dental  clinics.  There 
are  some  schools  which  provide  school  lunches  at  a  nominal 
price  or  without  cost  to  the  pupils.  Corrective  physical 
training  is  coming  to  be  recognized,  along  with  special  play- 
ground work.  Everywhere  appreciation  of  the  importance 
of  physical  health  as  a  condition  prerequisite  to  intellectual 
vigor  is  leading  those  who  have  the  welfare  of  the  community 
at  heart  to  demand  that  active  measures  be  taken  to  protect 
and  nourish  the  bodies  of  school  children.  It  is  the  purpose  of 
this  chapter  to  indicate  briefly  the  relation  of  teachers  to  this 
movement  for  physical  well  being. 

The  demand  that  light  be  sufficient  and  that  it  come  from 
the  right  direction  is  famihar  to  all  teachers.  It  may  be  ar- 
gued that  teachers  cannot  control  the  lighting  of  their  rooms. 
The  author  has  known  teachers  who  have  had  blinds  properly 
placed,  walls  and  ceilings  painted  or  papered  with  respect  to 
proper  distribution  of  light.  Some  teachers  have  even  been 
instrumental  in  securing  alterations  in  buildings  or  the  erec- 
tion of  new  buildings.     Teachers  who  know  that  the  area  of 

139 


140     A  Brief  Course  m  the   Teaching  Process 

windows  should  be  one  fourth  of  the  floor  space,  that  the  light 
should  be  admitted  from  one  side  of  the  room,  and  that  it 
should  come  over  the  children's  left  shoulders,  may  not  be 
able  to  meet  all  of  these  conditions ;  but  they  can  do  all  that 
is  possible  to  ameliorate  defects,  and  can  call  attention  to  the 
dangers  which  the  situation  possesses  for  their  pupils'  eyesight 
by  giving  or  having  given  tests  and  making  known  the  results. 

Modern  school  buildings  are  built  with  artificial  ventilating 
systems.  The  success  with  which  any  system  works  depends 
in  no  inconsiderable  measure  upon  the  teacher.  B}^  opening 
windows  in  one  room  the  efficiency  of  the  ventilation  of  all 
other  rooms  in  the  building  may  be  impaired.  Failure  to  note 
the  temperature  may  mean  that  children  and  teacher  are  suffer- 
ing from  a  condition  easily  remedied  by  the  janitor  or  engi- 
neer. Every  teacher  should  have  the  temperature  of  her  room 
recorded  on  the  blackboard,  where  every  one  can  see  it,  at  least 
twice  during  each  school  session.  Needless  to  say,  the  ther- 
mometer should  be  accurate,  and,  if  possible,  hung  in  the  center 
of  the  room,  not  more  than  four  or  five  feet  from  the  floor. 

Teachers  are  responsible  for  right  habits  of  posture.  If  seats 
need  to  be  adjusted,  the  teacher  should  note  the  fact  and  notify 
the  principal.  Although  special  cases  may  demand  expert 
advice  and  care,  the  teacher  must  hold  herself  responsible  for 
the  posture  of  the  majority  of  the  class.  Defects  of  vision  may 
be  either  the  cause  or  the  effect  of  improper  position  of  the  body, 
and  should  bring  from  the  teacher  an  urgent  appeal  for  careful 
examination  and  correction.  Frequent  rest  periods  should  be 
provided,  the  habit  of  correct  posture  insisted  upon,  and  simple 
corrective  exercises  given  by  the  teacher. 

Schoolrooms  are  not  infrequently  the  center  of  infection  for 
the  community.  Any  teacher  can  insist  upon  separate  drink- 
ing cups,  if  sanitary  fountains  are  not  provided  in  the  build- 
ing. When  a  child  appears  with  a  rash,  with  an  abnormal  tem- 
perature, and  not  infrequently  with  only  a  cough,  the  teacher 
should  appeal  to  the  principal,  the  health  inspector,  or  others 


The  Physical  Welfare  of  Children  141 

in  authority  for  the  elimination  of  the  child  from  the  group. 
The  author  has  been  in  schoolrooms  where  two  or  three  chil- 
dren in  the  incipient  stages  of  whooping  cough  were  allowed  to 
infect  the  whole  class.  A  school  superintendent  was  distressed 
with  what  proved  to  be  a  veritable  scourge  of  scarlet  fever  in 
one  of  his  schools.  Upon  visiting  the  school  he  found  one  child 
on  the  playground  proudly  showing  the  other  children  how  he 
could  take  flakes  of  skin  from  his  arm.  No  one  expects  teach- 
ers to  be  expert  diagnosticians,  but  any  teacher  should  acquaint 
herself  with  the  more  common  indications  of  childish  diseases, 
and  should  act  promptly  when  her  suspicion  is  aroused,  even 
though  she  prove  to  be  wrong  in  half  the  cases.  If  anything 
is  wrong,  ehminate  the  child  from  the  group,  suggest  that  a 
physician  be  consulted,  and  await  developments :  this  is  the 
only  safe  rule. 

In  addition  to  her  activity  in  eliminating  contagious  diseases, 
the  teacher  may  often  be  the  first  to  detect  deficiencies  in  sight 
or  hearing.  Children  who  are  inattentive  and  apparently  dull 
may  often  be  found  to  hear  indistinctly.  A  very  simple  test 
for  hearing  is  to  tap  a  pencil  against  a  desk  out  of  sight  of  the 
child,  and  ask  him  to  tell  how  many  taps  he  hears.  Head- 
aches, squinting,  the  position  in  which  the  book  is  held,  often 
indicate  to  the  teacher  eye  deficiency  which  parents  have  not 
suspected.  Any  child  who  gives  indications  of  eye  trouble 
should  be  tested  by  teacher  or  principal,  and,  if  any  indications 
of  difficulty  are  found,  the  parents  should  be  urged  to  consult 
a  competent  oculist. 

Dr.  William  H.  Allen  gives  the  following  suggestions  to 
teachers  who  would  discover  cases  of  adenoids  and  enlarged 
tonsils  :  ^ 

"i.   Inability  to  breathe  through  the  nose. 

"2.  A  chronically  running  nose,  accompanied  by  frequent  nose- 
bleeds and  a  cough  to  clear  the  throat. 

-  Allen,  Civics  aitd  Health,  p.  53. 


142     A  Brief  Course  171  the  Teaching  Process 

"3.   Stuffy  speech  and  delayed  learning  to  talk.      'Common'  is  pro- 
nounced 'cobbed/  'nose,'  'dose,'  and  'song,'  'sogg.' 

"4.   A  narrow  upper  jaw  and  irregular  crowding  of  the  teeth. 

"5.   Deafness. 

"6.    Chorea  or  nervousness. 

"7.   Inflamed  eyes  and  conjunctivitis." 

Any  one  who  has  known  a  child  with  a  bad  case  of  adenoids 
or  enlarged  tonsils,  and  who  has  followed  the  progress  of  the 
same  child  after  the  removal  of  the  defect,  will  not  think  it 
too  much  trouble  to  insist  that  suspected  cases  receive  the 
attention  of  a  physician.  In  these  cases,  and  where  the  child 
is  suffering  because  of  the  ills  superinduced  by  bad  teeth, 
the  teacher  must  work  with  the  parents.  Often  through 
mothers'  clubs  or  parents'  associations,  addressed  by  a  physician 
and  by  teacher,  the  necessity  for  action,  from  a  purely  eco- 
nomic point  of  view,  if  from  no  other,  can  be  impressed  upon 
parents.  It  is  possible  that  we  shall  have  to  resort  to  an 
appeal  to  private  charity  to  save  the  child,  or  perhaps  we  shall 
in  time  have  free  compulsory  dental,  surgical,  and  medical 
clinics. 

The  children  are  society's  greatest  asset,  from  whatever  point 
of  view  we  consider  them,  and  teachers  should  be  most  active 
in  all  movements  which  make  for  child  welfare.  There  is  no 
other  group  of  people  better  acquainted  with  the  needs  of 
children,  none  other  which  stands  in  so  strategic  a  position  with 
relation  to  parents  and  the  community  at  large.  Parents 
should  be  taught  the  necessity  of  plenty  of  sleep,  wholesome 
food,  and  clean  skins  for  children.  Better  devote  time  and 
energy  to  this  education  of  parents  than  attempt  to  teach 
children  handicapped  by  the  lack  of  proper  living  conditions. 
The  anti-tuberculosis  campaign,  the  pure  milk  crusade,  the 
demand  for  medical  inspection,  should  be  earnestly  supported, 
if  not  instituted,  by  the  teachers  of  children.  Health  is  not 
an  individual  matter.  The  welfare  of  the  whole  group  is  bound 
up  in  conditions  which  spell  disaster  for  the  individual. 


The  Physical  Welfare  of  Children  143 

Finally  the  teacher  has  a  right  to  good  health.  Living 
under  bad  hygienic  conditions,  with  children  who  are  unclean 
and  diseased,  should  not  be  demanded  of  any  teacher.  The 
efficiency  of  the  work  which  the  teacher  does,  no  less  than  that 
of  the  children,  is  conditioned  by  her  health.  If  it  is  true  that 
the  teacher  may  suffer  because  of  diseased  children,  it  is  none 
the  less  true  that  a  teacher  in  poor  physical  condition  injures 
all  of  the  children  she  is  pledged  to  help.  Happy,  healthful 
lives  for  children  and  teachers  is  a  condition  which  will  be 
brought  to  pass  when  all  teachers  work  for  this  end. 

For  Collateral  Reading 
S.  H.  Rowe,  The  Physical  'Nature  of  the  Child. 

Exercises. 

1.  How  may  the  school  superinduce  physical  defects  in  children? 

2.  Why  are  schoolroom  floors  oiled  and  swept  rather  than  scrubbed 
and  swept? 

3.  What  suggestions  for  the  improvement  of  all  schoolrooms  do 
you  gather  from  the  estabhshment  of  open-air  schools  for  the  anemic 
and  tubercular  ? 

4.  What  would  you  do  to  provide  relaxation  and  plenty  of  fresh  air 
on  a  day  so  stormy  that  children  could  not  go  out  of  doors  for  recess? 

5.  What  could  a  teacher  do  to  help  a  near-sighted  boy  or  girl? 

6.  Is  it  safe  to  trust  your  feeling  that  it  is  too  warm  or  too  cold  in 
regulating  the  temperature  of  the  room  ? 

7.  When  do  you  get  your  best  work,  when  it  is  too  warm,  or  when 
the  thermometer  is  between  65°  and  68°  Fahrenheit  ?  (If  there  is  suffi- 
cient moisture  in  the  air,  a  temperature  as  low  as  65°  will  not  seem  colder 
than  a  temperature  of  70°  when  the  air  carries  very  Httle  moisture.) 

8.  What  is  the  reason  for  using  only  pencils  with  large,  soft  lead  or 
crayons  for  writing  during  the  first  year? 

9.  What  can  a  teacher  do  to  protect  the  community  against  conta- 
gious diseases? 

10.  If  the  school  has  no  playground,  what  provision  would  you  make 
for  recreation  in  the  schoolroom  ? 

11.  A  large  percentage  of  children  have  decayed  teeth;  how  would 
you  hope  to  provide  that  proper  treatment  should  be  given  ? 

12.  Why  may  we  not  consider  health  as  an  individual  matter? 


144     ^  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

13.  Why  has  the  teacher  a  right  to  demand  hygienic  conditions  in 
the  schoolroom? 

14.  Why  has  the  community  a  right  to  demand  good  health  as  a 
prerequisite  for  teaching  ? 

15.  How  might  teachers  hope  to  secure  hygienic  conditions  for  chil- 
dren in  their  homes  ? 

16.  If  a  schoolroom  needs  redecorating  on  account  of  improper  hght- 
ing,  or  a  new  heating  and  ventilating  plant,  and  the  school  board  does 
not  supply  these  necessities,  how  would  you  hope  to  secure  such  im- 
provements ? 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MORAL  TRAINING 

Character  building  must  always  be  recognized  as  a  most 
important  function  of  the  school.  It  is  a  mistake  to  divorce 
the  intellectual  training  of  children  from  growth  in  morality. 
If  our  country  demands  increased  industrial  intelligence,  the 
training  of  men  and  women  for  leadership  in  manufacture, 
trade,  and  commerce,  much  more  must  it  demand  citizens 
of  sterHng  character.  Industrial  and  intellectual  supremacy 
can  mean  nothing  to  a  nation  unless  righteousness  prevails 
both  in  public  and  in  private  Kfe.  The  idea  that  the  schools 
of  our  democracy  are  to  train  for  citizenship  has  always  been 
interpreted  to  mean  an  education  which  will  fit  for  a  Hfe  of 
service  to  the  best  interests  of  humanity.  The  fact  that  re- 
ligious instruction,  as  such,  is  barred  from  our  schools,  does 
not  mean  that  we  are  as  a  people  irreligious,  much  less  that 
we  undervalue  the  significance  of  the  moral  training  of  our 
children. 

School  conditions  offer  advantages  for  moral  training,  even 
though  the  overemphasis  on  intellectual  attainments  may  at 
times  seem  to  give  the  teacher  little  opportunity  for  work  in 
this  direction.  The  fact  of  a  group  of  children  who  may  learn 
to  work  together,  to  help  each  other,  to  respect  each  other's 
rights,  to  serve  the  best  interests  of  the  whole  group,  in  fact 
a  situation  which  demands  just  those  virtues  which  are  de- 
manded in  society  outside  the  school,  makes  the  school  in 
some  respects  an  ideal  situation  for  training  in  morality.  Of 
course  it  is  possible  that  the  demand  for  intellectual  attain- 
ment may  so  occupy  the  mind  of  the  teacher  that  she  will 
I.  145 


146     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

resort  to  repression  in  order  to  get  results  in  habits  and  knowl- 
edge. It  is  true,  too,  that  the  curriculum  may  be  so  narrow 
as  to  give  less  opportunity  than  might  be  desired  for  the  type 
of  activity  which  best  lends  itself  to  the  development  of  social 
virtues.  But  if  adverse  conditions  hinder  somewhat  the  work 
of  the  teacher,  they  cannot  deny  a  very  important  place  to  the 
school  in  the  formation  of  character. 

The  increased  responsibility  of  the  school  for  the  moral 
training  of  children  becomes  apparent  at  once  when  the  in- 
fluence of  the  home  and  the  church  of  to-day  are  contrasted 
with  the  strength  which  these  institutions  once  possessed. 
Regret  it  as  much  as  we  may,  neither  home  nor  church  is  as 
potent  in  the  development  of  morality  as  they  once  were. 
Before  the  dominance  of  the  factory  system  the  boy  or  girl 
who  participated  in  the  activities  of  the  home  gained  in  ap- 
preciation of  necessity  for  cooperation  and  in  understanding 
of  his  responsibility  to  the  group  in  a  way  that  is  denied  the 
modern  child.  To  be  a  party  to  those  industries  through 
which  food  was  secured,  clothing  obtained,  and  shelter  provided 
meant  the  exercise  of  all  of  the  social  virtues.  It  was  fitting 
under  such  a  regime  that  the  school  should  devote  itself 
largely  to  the  tools  of  learning.  But  under  our  present  con- 
ditions the  demand  is  insistent  that  the  school  provide,  in 
some  measure,  through  its  curriculum,  its  organization,  and 
by  means  of  its  methods  of  instruction,  for  the  development 
of  the  attitude  of  responsibility,  and  that  positive  morality 
which  places  a  premium  upon  doing  good. 

Let  us  inquire  still  more  closely  concerning  the  conditions 
under  which  moral  training  must  be  effected  in  the  school. 
First  of  all  there  is  the  fact  of  heredity.  The  children  with  whom 
we  work  are  different  by  nature,  and  nothing  that  we  can  do 
will  make  them  all  alike.  Then,  too,  there  is  the  added  factor 
of  training  before  the  school  age.  Many  children  come  to 
school  with  bad  habits  and  low  ideals.  The  one  thing  that 
every  teacher  ought  to  realize  as  fundamental  in  moral  train* 


Moral  Training  147 

ing  is  the  fact  that  differences  in  children  must  be  met  by  a 
corresponding  difference  of  appeal  on  the  part  of  the  teacher. 

Over  against  the  differences  due  to  heredity  and  previous 
training,  there  is  to  be  found  the  common  instinctive  equip- 
ment. Children  instinctively  imitate,  construct,  collect, 
inquire,  emulate,  sympathize,  contest,  wonder,  are  proud,  and 
the  like.  This  instinctive  equipment  furnishes  the  basis  for 
actions  which  in  turn  become  habits.  The  problem  of  the 
teacher  is  to  use  these  instincts  in  securing  desirable  responses. 
Of  course,  undesirable  responses  have  their  basis  in  instinct. 
Here  it  is  the  business  of  the  teacher  to  make  the  undesirable 
response  result  in  discomfort,  or,  better,  to  substitute  a  desir- 
able response.  To  be  too  proud  of  one's  attainment  as  con- 
trasted with  others  may  be  unlovely,  but  to  be  proud  of  work 
better  done  to-day  than  yesterday  is  a  positive  virtue  resting 
upon  the  same  instinctive  foundation.  The  teacher  may  be 
worried  because  of  the  imitation  of  that  which  is  socially  un- 
desirable, but  she  may  use  this  same  tendency  to  react  to  pro- 
duce the  social  graces.  There  are  cases  in  which  the  attempt 
to  substitute  may  fail,  and  the  necessity  for  inhibition  by 
accompanying  the  undesirable  response  by  unpleasant  results 
arise.  The  important  thing  is  not  to  neglect  this  instinctive 
equipment.  The  tendencies  shown  in  childhood  furnish  the 
one  basis  for  moral  development,  and  their  neglect  may  re- 
sult in  lack  of  moral  strength  throughout  the  life  of  the 
individual. 

Besides  the  differences  among  individuals,  there  are  differ- 
ences corresponding  roughly  to  stages  of  development.  The 
authority  which  is  accepted  without  question  by  children  of 
six  will  be  seriously  questioned  by  the  adolescent.  Children 
grow  not  only  in  their  ability  to  judge  of  the  right  action,  but 
also  in  their  demand  that  authority  be  amenable  to  reason. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  rational  moraHty  is  the  type 
which  the  school  should  attempt  to  develop.  To  this  end  it 
is  essential  that  the  responsibility  of  children  for  their  own 


148     A  Brief  Course  i7i  the  Teaching  Process 

actions  and  for  the  welfare  of  the  whols  group  should  increase 
as  they  pass  through  the  school.  There  is  a  possibility  of 
controlling  little  children  through  fear,  but  the  time  comes 
when  threats  no  longer  avail.  It  is  a  sorry  spectacle  to  see 
a  mature  individual  who  must  still  be  controlled  by  fear  of 
the  results  which  will  follow  misconduct.  It  may  be  ques- 
tioned whether  the  continued  use  of  corporal  punishment 
may  not  result  in  arrested  development  in  moraHty.  The 
desire  for  social  approval  develops  throughout  the  school 
period.  When  children  or  adults  fail  to  see  the  reasonable- 
ness of  a  demand,  this  appeal  to  approval  of  the  group  may  be 
most  effective  in  securing  desirable  responses.  The  rule  which 
the  teacher  must  follow  is  never  to  appeal  to  a  lower  motive 
when  a  higher  may  be  used.  Fear,  respect  for  authority, 
faith  in  the  wisdom  of  the  one  directing,  desire  for  social 
approval,  ability  to  pick  out  the  essentially  moral  element  in 
the  situation,  and  desire  to  act  in  accordance  with  one's  best 
judgment,  —  thus  runs  the  hierarchy  of  motives  which  control. 
In  any  group  some  children  can  be  appealed  to  by  one  motive 
and  some  by  another.  The  teacher  who  is  developing  moral 
strength  in  the  group  will  constantly  seek  to  appeal  to  the 
children  on  a  plane  just  higher  than  that  which  they  have 
hitherto  occupied. 

Another  factor  which  plays  an  important  part  in  condition- 
ing the  work  of  the  school  in  developing  morality  is  the 
generally  accepted  standards  of  the  community.  Social 
heredity  furnishes  the  basis  for  belief  in  the  continued  develop- 
ment of  society.  The  progress  that  has  been  made,  the 
standards  once  established,  become  the  common  heritage  of 
the  members  of  the  group.  Drunkenness  is  no  longer  con- 
sidered gentlemanly ;  we  do  not  He  to  our  enemies  when  they 
have  a  right  to  know  the  truth ;  our  ideal  of  civic  righteous- 
ness demands  that  a  man  be  as  honest  when  he  serves  the  whole 
people  as  he  is  when  he  deals  with  individuals.  The  im.por- 
tance  of  this  factor  of  environment  in  determining  the  moral 


Moral  Training  149 

life  of  the  individual  is  admitted  even  by  those  who  emphasize 
most  strongly  the  importance  of  original  nature.  For  the 
school  it  gives  hope  because  of  the  influences  which  may  there 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  child;  and  it  adds  a  problem, 
because  the  school  may  not  ignore  the  home  or  the  street  from 
which  the  child  comes.  It  does  not  seem  unreasonable  to 
expect  that  teachers  will  at  no  far  distant  day  become  most 
active  in  all  activities  which  make  for  better,  cleaner,  more 
worthy  surroundings  for  the  children  whom  they  attempt  to 
train  during  a  relatively  small  part  of  their  waking  hours. 

The  physical  condition  of  children  and  teacher  has  much 
to  do  with  the  possibility  of  effective  school  work,  and  train- 
ing in  morahty  is  not  an  exception  to  the  rule.  There  is  not 
much  use  in  trying  to  form  moral  habits,  nor  in  asking  children 
to  form  moral  judgments,  in  a  room  filled  with  foul  air,  with 
the  temperature  above  seventy-five.  Poor  physical  condition 
on  the  part  of  the  teacher  is  often  responsible  for  lack  of  con- 
trol on  the  part  of  children.  A  nervous,  worn-out  teacher  is 
apt  to  nag,  is  almost  sure  to  magnify  insignificant  acts,  and 
by  virtue  of  her  lack  of  control  of  herself  is  in  no  position  to 
control  or  instruct  children.  It  would  seem  at  times  that  we 
need  medical  care  for  teachers  even  more  than  for  children. 
One  child  in  poor  physical  condition  may  be  hard  to  manage, 
and  may  fail  to  gain  much  either  intellectually  or  morally 
from  the  school ;  but  one  teacher  in  poor  physical  condition 
may  do  positive  injury  to  a  roomful  of  children.  A  few  days 
with  a  dyspeptic  teacher  may  mean  the  formation  of  bad  habits 
which  it  will  take  weeks  or  even  months  to  eradicate. 

We  are  beginning  to  reahze  that  there  is  a  direct  relation 
between  hygiene  and  morality.  The  underfed,  overworked, 
physically  unfit  are  so  frequently  immoral  that  we  had  almost 
charged  their  condition  to  their  immorality.  In  doing  so  we 
were  often  confusing  cause  and  effect.  However  the  problem 
may  be  solved  so  far  as  adults  are  concerned,  we  are  satisfied 
that  children  of  school  age  are  entitled  to  happy,  healthful 


150     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

lives  in  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to  achieve  this  result.  The  work 
done  to  secure  better  physical  conditions,  both  in  school  and 
at  home,  is  probably  as  significant  for  the  morality  of  children 
as  is  any  instruction  that  is  given ;  and  such  care  for  the 
physical  welfare  of  children  is  the  condition  without  which  we 
have  no  right  to  expect  them  to  grow  morally  strong. 

While  all  are  agreed  as  to  the  necessity  for  moral  training  in 
our  schools,  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  concerning  the 
method  to  be  used.  One  school  advocates  direct  moral  in- 
struction by  means  of  fairy  tales,  history,  and  other  stories,  and 
by  moral  precepts.  The  advocates  of  this  form  of  instruction 
beheve  that  they  can  in  this  way  make  children  understand 
clearly  what  is  right,  and  because  of  the  emotional  reaction 
produced  by  tale  or  story  the  children  will  not  only  know  the 
right,  but  will  also  want  to  do  right.  Those  who  beheve  in 
indirect  instruction  find  in  the  regular  work  of  the  school,  in 
the  teaching  of  all  subjects,  as  well  as  in  the  control  of  the  chil- 
dren in  school,  the  best  opportunity  for  moral  instruction. 

With  regard  to  the  direct  method,  it  seems  to  the  writer 
that  it  is  assumed  that ''  to  know  right  is  to  do  right."  So  far 
as  the  emotion  aroused  by  a  story  of  bravery,  or  honesty,  or 
temperance  is  concerned,  the  chances  are  that  it  will  have 
entirely  evaporated  before  any  occasion  for  action  is  found. 
And  right  here  is  one  very  great  danger  in  this  sort  of  instruc- 
tion. To  have  the  emotions  aroused  without  any  outlet  in 
the  corresponding  action  may  result  in  developing  individuals 
who  are  entirely  satisfied  with  the  emotion.  They  learn  to 
dehght  in  emotions,  and  lack  efficiency  in  action.  The  time 
to  tell  the  story  of  bravery  is  when  bravery  is  actally  demanded ; 
or  for  the  child  who  knows  the  story  simply  as  a  story  and 
without  any  attempt  to  use  it  to  teach  morality,  the  story  may 
be  referred  to  when  this  virtue  is  demanded.  Likewise  with 
the  moral  precept.  For  one  who  has  had  some  experience  in 
acting  in  accordance  with  his  best  moral  judgment,  the  precept 
may  be  used  as  a  significant  generalization.     Honesty  may  be 


Moral  Training  151 

the  best  policy  after  you  have  won  in  the  struggle  and  have 
the  approval  of  conscience,  and  of  those  whose  judgment  you 
value.  You  may  be  ashamed  to  be  designated  by  the  name 
of  the  unlovely  character  in  the  story,  when  you  are  really 
guilty  of  his  weakness  of  character.  It  would  seem  safer,  from 
what  we  know  of  the  emotions,  to  assume  that  actions  are 
responsible  for  emotions  rather  than  to  expect  the  emotion  to 
produce  the  corresponding  action. 

In  support  of  the  indirect  method  of  teaching  morality,  it 
may  be  argued  that  the  school  presents  continually  a  situation 
in  which  moral  action  is  demanded.^  It  is  possible,  of  course, 
to  deny  to  children  any  considerable  responsibility  for  their 
actions.  Children  who  are  hedged  about  by  rules  and  regu- 
lations, who  are  constantly  directed  and  commanded  by  the 
teacher,  will  grow  little  in  power  to  form  correct  moral  judg- 
ments. But  the  ideal  school  is  in  fact  a  society,  and  the  de- 
mand for  moral  activity,  and  consequently  the  chance  to  grow 
in  morality,  is  as  great  as  in  any  other  life  situation.  It  must 
be  remembered,  too,  that  the  main  purpose  of  the  moral  train- 
ing which  the  school  gives  is  to  make  moral  growth  continuous. 
New  situations  will  demand  new  adjustments,  and  it  is  not 
possible  to  supply  the  child  with  a  morality  which  will  be  suffi- 
cient for  his  future  needs.  The  one  preparation  which  will 
certainly  be  effective  in  making  possible  later  growth  is  to  be 
found  in  the  moral  action  of  to-day. 

The  subjects  of  instruction  lend  themselves  to  moral  train- 
ing. Moral  strength  depends  upon  interest  in  those  activities 
which  make  for  social  welfare,  in  the  exercise  of  judgment  in 
determining  the  course  of  action  which  will  contribute  most 
to  the  general  welfare,  and  in  action  in  accordance  with  the 
judgment  rendered.  Our  course  of  study  contains  much  which 
should  result  in  increased  appreciation  and  sympathy  in  the 
activities  which  characterize  our  modern  society.  Geography, 
history,  nature  study,  literature,  all  deal  with  men  in  their 
*  Dewey,  Moral  Principles  in  Education. 


152     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

relationship  with  one  another  in  a  common  environment.  If 
teaching  means  anything  more  than  gaining  knowledge, 
the  method  employed  in  school  subjects  cannot  be  without 
moral  significance.  Teachers  who  demand  accuracy,  who  are 
more  interested  in  the  truth  of  history  than  in  a  moral  tale, 
who  are  open-minded  rather  than  dogmatic,  who  seek  to  exalt 
the  intellect  and  to  hold  the  emotions  under  control,  are  doing 
more  effective  moral  teaching  than  those  who  preach  by  the 
hour. 

As  has  already  been  indicated,^  the  ordinary  school  work 
lends  itself  to  the  development  of  positive  moral  virtues.  To 
work  together,  to  contribute  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole  group, 
to  determine  conduct  in  view  of  the  possible  effect  on  others, 
is  to  exercise  those  virtues  which  are  demanded  in  all  social 
situations.  Pride  and  joy  in  one's  work  and  contempt  for  the 
shirker  are  as  natural  in  school  as  in  any  other  situation.  The 
so-called  school  virtues  of  punctuality,  regularity,  obedience, 
and  industry  are  virtues  outside  of  schools  by  virtue  of  the  same 
sanction  which  gives  them  validity  in  the  school  society.  It 
is  important  to  realize  that  many  of  these  virtues  must  be 
reduced  to  the  basis  of  habit  in  order  to  be  most  effective. 
Acts  of  kindness,  courtesy,  punctuality,  repeated  often  enough, 
become  second  nature.  They  need  no  longer  to  be  thought 
about. 

In  the  field  which  requires  judgment,  it  is  also  true  that  one's 
attitude  may  become  habitual.  Much  which  we  call  morality 
can  be  accounted  for  by  taste.  Many  boys  and  girls  have 
been  saved  the  struggle  through  which  others  pass  by  ideals 
and  contempts  which  they  have  derived  fromx  their  associates. 
Fortunate,  indeed,  is  the  boy  or  girl  who  can  say :  ''The  mem- 
bers of  our  set  do  not  frequent  saloons,  do  not  lie  or  cheat, 
play  fair,  work  hard,  dare  to  do  right."  All  of  us  tend  to  de- 
rive our  moral  code  from  the  group  of  people  with  whom  we 
are  constantly  associated.  There  is  honor  even  among  thieves, 
*  See  chapter  on  Social  Phases  of  the  Recitation. 


Moral  Training  153 

because  they  have  a  code  which  they  respect.  The  teacher 
who  secures  the  cooperation  of  the  leaders  of  the  group  can 
modify,  indeed  transform,  the  moral  attitude  of  a  class  by 
this  appeal  to  the  code  which  the  whole  group  accepts  and  upon 
which  the  leaders  insist. 

The  highest  type  of  moral  action  is  that  which  involves 
judgments  of  worth.  When  one  asks  himself  the  question,  is 
this  right,  will  it  be  for  the  general  welfare,  and  then  acts  in 
accordance  with  that  judgment,  he  has  performed  an  essen- 
tially moral  act.  Training  for  this  sort  of  action  is  of  the  same 
sort  that  is  demanded  wherever  the  judgment  is  involved.  The 
child  must  be  taught  to  analyze  the  situation  and  to  pick  out 
the  essentially  moral  element.  The  writer  once  knew  a  high 
school  class  who  habitually  cheated  in  examinations.  They 
said  that  they  were  getting  ahead  of  the  teacher.  The  princi- 
pal explained  that  they  were  dishonest,  that  cheating  was  steal- 
ing. The  attitude  of  the  class  changed.  They  responded  to 
this  analysis  of  the  situation  which  pointed  out  the  moral  ele- 
ment. What  we  call  thoughtlessness  and  the  sowing  of  wild 
oats  is  often  to  be  explained  by  the  lack  of  analysis  which  makes 
prominent  the  moral  significance  of  the  contemplated  action. 
The  school  should  give  opportunity  whenever  possible,  whether 
in  ordinary  schoolroom  work,  on  the  playground,  or  with  refer- 
ence to  extra-school  activities,  for  the  exercise  of  the  moral 
judgment.  Power  to  analyze  new  situations  and  to  act  morally 
depends  entirely  upon  previous  judgments  and  actions. 

Any  discussion  of  moral  training  would  be  incomplete  which 
did  not  take  account  of  the  reformation  of  the  wrong  doer 
through  school  punishments  or  discipline.  "Discipline  and 
punishment  are  teaching  processes  as  much  as  are  grammar  or 
arithmetic  lessons,  and  when  we  remember  that  conduct  and 
behavior  is  the  whole  of  life,  we  must  welcome  the  occasions  for 
discipline,  and  even  for  punishment.  No  sane  person  is  glad 
that  a  child's  instincts,  impulses,  and  habits  have  taken  wrong 
forms,  but  the  real  teacher  is  glad  that  these  forms  manifest 


154     ^  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

themselves,  so  that  they  may  be  worked  over  into  correct  reac- 
tions." ^  The  key  to  the  situation  is  found  in  placing  the  re- 
sponsibility with  the  child.  If  a  wrong  has  been  committed, 
either  he  has  failed  to  think  of  the  moral  significance  of  his  act, 
or  he  has  chosen  to  do  wrong.  In  the  one  case  reformation  may 
be  brought  about  by  making  clear  the  nature  of  the  act ;  in  the 
other  the  child  must  will  to  do  differently,  and  must  by  his 
own  act  regain  his  place  in  the  group  whose  welfare  he  has 
transgressed.  What  the  ordinary  situation  demands  is  more 
of  thinking  on  the  part  of  children  and  less  of  resentment  and 
anger  on  the  part  of  teachers. 

Punishments  need  to  be  differentiated  to  fit  the  child.  The 
writer  has  known  boys  in  active  rebellion  against  school  author- 
ity who  would  accept  corporal  punishment  rather  than  give 
any  evidence  of  intention  to  submit.  In  such  a  case  this  form 
of  punishment  was  justified.  Happily  such  cases  are  rare  with 
the  teacher  who  knows  how  to  work  with  children.  Even  in 
cases  where  the  offense  is  seemingly  identical,  the  punishment 
must  be  varied  to  suit  the  individual  to  be  reformed.  Sugges- 
tion may  suffice  for  one,  another  may  be  persuaded,  and  still 
another  must  be  labored  with  at  length  in  order  that  the  judg- 
ment which  the  teacher  has  passed  may  be  accepted  by  him  as 
valid.  In  any  event  it  is  the  thoughtful  individual,  who  has  the 
habit  of  analyzing  the  situation  when  in  doubt,  and  then  acts 
in  accordance  with  his  judgment,  which  it  is  the  purpose  of  the 
school  to  develop. 

The  importance  of  the  moral  influence  of  the  teacher  has 
always  been  recognized.  At  times,  however,  the  negative 
rather  than  the  positive  factors  have  been  emphasized.  It  is 
well  enough  to  demand  that  the  teacher  be  free  from  vices, 
petty  or  great ;  but  it  is  even  more  important  to  inquire  con- 
cerning the  positive  virtues  which  characterize  the  instructor 
of  children.     We  may  hope  that  our  schools  will  develop  open- 

^  Moral  Training  in  the  Public  Schools,  p.  41.  The  essay  by  Charles  Edward 
Rugh. 


Moral  Training  155 

minded  children,  provided  the  teachers  are  not  dogmatic. 
Courage,  industry,  integrity,  are  fundamental  virtues.  Does 
the  teacher  possess  them  ?  Sympathy  with  all  activities  which 
make  for  public  good  is  demanded  of  all  in  a  democracy.  Does 
the  teacher  participate,  is  the  teacher  a  factor,  in  those  move- 
ments which  make  for  improvement  in  the  community  ?  The 
ideal  teacher  is  an  intelligent,  hard-working  public  servant, 
whose  field  of  endeavor  is  limited  only  by  the  needs  of  the  com- 
munity which  he  serves.  The  number  of  teachers  who  have 
thus  exalted  the  office  of  teacher  in  the  community  is  happily 
increasing.  The  moral  effect  upon  the  lives  of  children  of 
association  with  such  a  man  or  woman  cannot  be  overestimated. 

For  Collateral  Reading 

Moral  Training  in  Public  Schools,  Chapter  I,  by  C.  A.  Rugh. 
J.  MacCunn,  The  Making  of  Character. 
The  Essentials  of  Character,  by  E.  0.  Sisson. 

Exercise. 

1.  Why  is  the  school  a  good  situation  in  which  to  train  children  in 
moraUty  ? 

2.  Is  the  man  who  simply  does  not  injure  others  to  be  thought  of  as 
living  a  moral  hfe  ? 

3.  Do  you  think  any  teacher  has  a  right  to  claim  that  she  is  not 
responsible  for  the  moral  training  of  her  pupils?     Why? 

4.  In  what  way  do  the  instincts  furnish  the  basis  for  moral  training  ? 

5.  Should  you  treat  all  of  the  children  alike  in  situations  which  involve 
a  moral  issue  ? 

6.  How  would  you  hope  to  have  boys  come  to  render  the  moral 
judgment  that  it  is  wrong  to  throw  stones  through  the  windows  of  a 
vacant  house? 

7.  How  may  school  spirit  and  school  standards  contribute  to  the 
development  of  morality? 

8.  Name  some  troublesome  things  which  boys  do  that  might  be 
explained  by  bad  physical  conditions  in  the  school  or  in  the  home. 

9.  What  do  you  understand  by  the  direct  method  of  moral  instruc- 
tion ?     What  is  the  strength  and  the  weakness  of  this  method  ? 

10.  Do  you  think  the  moral  significance  of  a  story  or  a  poem  should 
be  taught  in  a  lesson  in  Uterature? 


156     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 


11.  Name  school    situations  which  involve    moral    judgments  and  \ 
which  offer  opportunity  for  training  in  morality.  j 

12.  How  would  you  hope  to  train  children  to  form  the  habit  of  ask-  j 
ing  themselves  whether  a  proposed  line  of  action  was  right  before  acting  ?  ^ 

13.  How  may  the  one  who  does  wrong  in  school  provide  the  oppor-  , 
tunity  for  the  best  sort  of  training  in  morahty? 

14.  Is  there  ever  any  defense  for  corporal  punishment  ?  j 

15.  How  important  do  you  consider  the  influence  of  the  teacher  in 
developing  morally  sound  boys  and  girls  ?  ' 


CHAPTER  XV 

CLASS  MANAGEMENT 

In  any  discussion  of  class  management  it  is  necessary  to 
distinguish  clearly  between  organization  and  control  as  a  means 
and  as  an  end.  Much  of  the  discussion  of  school  and  class 
management  assumes  that  its  sole  purpose  is  found  in  economiz- 
ing time  and  energy  for  teacher  and  pupils.  Class  manage- 
ment, from  this  point  of  view,  is  important  as  the  means  with- 
out which  effective  work  cannot  be  done  in  the  school.  Such  a 
view  neglects  to  consider  the  opportunity  afforded  in  managing 
a  class  for  growth  on  the  part  of  pupils  in  the  power  of  self- 
control.  Any  school  which  plans  to  reproduce  in  its  Hfe  the 
conditions  commonly  found  in  Hfe  outside  of  the  school  must 
allow  children  to  accept  responsibility  for  their  own  acts,  and 
will,  therefore,  look  upon  management  as  an  end. 

The  discussion  has  not  been  wholly  one-sided.  At  times 
there  has  been  considerable  controversy  concerning  the  kind  of 
management  which  was  most  to  be  desired  in  the  schoolroom. 
Those  who  have  thought  of  management  as  a  means  only  have 
been  apt  to  overemphasize  routine;  while  those  who  have 
thought  only  of  the  opportunity  afforded  for  growth  in  self- 
control  have  neglected  to  reahze  the  importance  of  habit  in 
situations  which  are  invariable.  The  adherents  of  the  one 
type  of  control  want  everything  done  at  the  tap  of  the  bell,  in 
accordance  with  the  rules  which  have  been  made  by  the  teacher. 
Their  opponents  would  do  away  with  "mechanized  routine," 
and  would  expect  children  to  exercise  their  judgment  as  each 
question  arises.     This  difference  in  point  of  view  is  easily 

IS7 


158     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

reconciled  when  we  look  at  management  now  as  a  means  and 
again  as  an  end. 

If  a  fire  drill  is  to  be  effective,  every  one  must  drop  the  work 
in  hand  when  the  signal  is  given  and  march  out  of  the  building 
in  an  order  and  by  a  route  which  has  been  determined  previ- 
ously and  from  which  there  is  no  variation.  Here  we  have 
the  best  example  of  management  as  a  means.  There  can  be 
no  question  in  this  situation  concerning  the  right  of  the  indi- 
vidual to  exercise  his  judgment.  The  safety  of  all  depends 
upon  the  absolute  following  of  rules,  upon  the  degree  to  which 
the  response  to  the  fire  drill  has  become  a  matter  of  habit. 
If  we  analyze  this  situation,  we  will  discover  the  elements 
which  characterize  situations  in  which  we  are  to  look  upon 
management  as  a  means.  In  these  situations  we  should  strive 
to  secure  habitual  responses. 

In  the  first  place  the  response  demanded  is  invariable.  It 
will  not  do  to  march  out  of  the  building  one  way  to-day  and 
another  to-morrow.  The  class  may  not  go  before  or  after  its 
place  in  the  line.  The  speed  with  which  the  building  is  emptied 
depends  upon  every  individual.  Here  we  have  the  second 
element :  the  welfare  of  the  whole  group  demands  that  the 
situation  be  followed  always  by  a  certain  response. 

Let  us  examine  now  some  of  the  schoolroom  situations  in  the 
light  of  these  criteria.  In  passing  books,  paper,  pencils,  and 
the  like,  a  definite  order  should  be  followed.  In  this  situation 
the  end  desired  is  invariable.  What  is  wanted  is  to  place  the 
desired  material  in  the  hands  of  each  pupil  with  as  Httle  delay 
as  is  possible.  The  welfare  of  the  whole  group  depends  upon 
this  invariable  response  upon  the  part  of  each  pupil.  If  any 
one  fails  to  do  his  part,  there  is  delay  and  loss  of  time  in  the 
work  which  it  is  desired  to  accomphsh.  For  the  same  reasons 
it  is  wise  to  have  a  definite  order  in  getting  wraps,  a  rule  con- 
cerning the  manner  of  passing  in  the  room,  the  habit  of  rising 
and  facing  the  majority  of  the  class  when  reciting,  and  the 
Hke. 


Class  Management  159 

Let  us  now  examine  other  situations  which  afford  an  oppor- 
tunity for  the  exercise  of  self-control,  in  which  management  is 
an  end.  In  some  schools  children  are  formed  in  lines  five  min- 
utes before  the  hour  and  marched  into  the  building.  There  is 
no  good  reason  why  children  should  march  into  the  building. 
The  end  desired,  that  they  all  be  in  their  places  promptly, 
can  be  secured  by  ringing  a  warning  bell  and  requiring  that 
all  enter  the  building  as  they  see  fit  and  be  in  their  places  on 
time.  In  the  latter  instance  they  have  a  chance  to  act  as  nor- 
mal human  beings  who  accept  and  fulfill  their  responsibility  to 
themselves  and  to  the  group.  The  desired  end  is  secured,  and, 
far  more  important,  the  children  are  learning  to  exercise  that 
self-control  which  is  demanded  outside  of  school.  Of  course, 
it  may  be  objected  that  it  is  much  easier  to  control  the  children, 
if  you  march  them  into  the  building.  The  answer  is  found  by 
suggesting  that  the  school  does  not  exist  primarily  for  the  ease 
of  teachers,  but  rather  for  the  development  of  socially  efficient 
children. 

A  principal  who  had  some  difficulty  in  having  the  boys  come 
from  a  somewhat  distant  playground  promptly  lined  them  up 
for  a  race  to  the  schoolhouse.  They  found  that  it  took  them 
little  more  than  a  minute  to  reach  their  schoolrooms.  The 
boys  understood  his  suggestion  that  the  warning  bell,  rung  five 
minutes  before  school  opened,  afforded  ample  time  to  reach 
their  rooms  and  be  ready  for  work  when  school  opened.  It 
would  have  required  less  thought  on  the  part  of  the  principal 
and  less  self-control  on  the  part  of  the  boys  to  have  marched 
them  to  the  schoolhouse  at  the  right  time  each  day.  Many 
school  situations  offer  similar  opportunity.  Passing  through 
halls,  asking  the  teacher  questions,  leaving  one's  seat  for  books 
or  materials,  consulting  with  one's  neighbor  may,  in  the  hands 
of  a  skillful  teacher,  become  a  most  efficient  means  of  training 
children  in  self-control.  In  all  such  cases  management  is  an 
end,  in  the  sense  that  these  opportunities  are  sought  by  the 
teacher  because  of  their  value  in  training  children. 


i6o     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

Pupil  participation  in  school  government  has  been  much  ad* 
vocated  of  late  as  the  best  means  of  securing  a  feeling  of  re- 
sponsibility on  the  part  of  pupils  for  the  welfare  of  the  whole 
group,  as  well  as  in  the  exercise  of  self-control.  As  long  as  these 
ideals  control,  it  matters  little  what  particular  form  of  organi- 
zation is  utilized  to  secure  the  ends  desired.  What  sometimes 
happens  is  an  exaggeration  of  the  importance  of  the  machinery 
of  government,  with  a  corresponding  lack  of  self-control,  or 
exercise  of  social  responsibility.  The  writer  once  visited  a 
school  which  was  much  talked  of  because  of  its  system  of 
"pupil  self-government."  He  fomid  there  the  worst  bullying 
of  small  boys  by  those  who  held  offices  that  he  has  ever  seen 
in  any  school.  Many  of  the  children  declared  that  they  were 
not  parties  to  the  government  supposedly  in  control  of  the 
school.  When  the  teachers  were  absent  frOm  their  rooms,  the 
children  droned  over  certain  set  exercises  which  were  constantly 
before  them  and  from  which  type  of  activity  they  were  not  per- 
mitted to  depart.  Now  these  defects  in  school  management 
may  not  all  be  charged  directly  to  the  overemphasis  of  the 
machinery  of  government,  but  they  were  due  to  the  fact  that 
this  machinery,  this  form,  had  taken  the  place  of  genuine  self- 
government  on  the  part  of  the  pupils. 

A  wise  principal  or  teacher  may  secure  good  results  by  in- 
augurating a  system  of  pupil  participation  in  school  govern- 
ment, but  the  wise  guide  and  counsellor  must  be  there  all  of 
the  time.  Introducing  children  dramatically  to  the  machinery 
of  government  will  not  place  old  heads  on  young  shoulders. 
Children  will  still  be  childish  in  their  judgments  and  in  their 
ideas  of  punishment,  even  though  they  be  called  senators, 
aldermen,  policemen,  judges,  and  the  like.  The  dramatization 
of  city  or  state  government  will  undoubtedly  help  in  the  un- 
derstanding of  the  function  of  citizens  and  of  their  servants,  the 
officeholders.  This  alone  would  be  sufficient  justification  for 
introducing  in  the  upper  grades,  in  dramatic  form,  a  system  of 
government,  without  expecting  that  it  would  in  any  consider- 


Class  Management  l6l 

able  measure  relieve  teachers  or  principals  of  the  necessity  of 
guiding  children  in  their  development  in  power  of  self-control, 
and  in  their  acceptance  of  social  responsibility. 

The  same  system  of  pupil  participation  in  school  govern- 
ment will  succeed  with  one  principal  and  set  of  teachers  and 
fail  in  another  situation.  The  results  which  are  m.ost  worth 
while,  self-control  and  the  exercise  of  social  responsibihty,  will 
be  secured  without  any  of  the  forms  of  civil  government  in  one 
school,  while  another  principal  will  claim  that  success  in  his 
school  is  due  to  his  system  of  "pupil  government."  No  teacher 
need  feel  condemned  because  she  cannot  succeed  with  a  par- 
ticular scheme  of  government,  and  none  should  be  unduly 
elated  because  of  the  invention  or  use  of  some  particular  form 
of  organization.  The  essential  element  in  school  management 
is  found  in  the  spirit  of  cooperation  and  helpfulness  which 
should  actuate  teachers  and  pupils. 

The  questions  of  management  considered  above  cover  much 
of  the  ground  usually  considered  under  the  head  of  school  dis- 
cipline. The  same  problems,  especially  from  the  standpoint  of 
punishments  and  rewards,  are  considered  in  the  chapter  which 
deals  with  the  moral  training  of  children.  It  may  be  well  to 
add  here  that  the  problem  of  discipline  is  largely  one  of  good 
teaching.  Children  who  are  hard  at  work  seldom  worry  the 
teacher.  Right  conditions  for  work  may  play  an  important 
part.  The  consideration  of  some  of  the  problems  of  organiza- 
tion is,  therefore,  in  place  in  a  chapter  on  management. 

The  ordering  of  the  daily  program  is  one  of  the  most 
important  elements  in  classroom  management.  The  desire 
for  variety  is  strong  in  children,  and  their  power  to  concentrate 
their  attention  upon  a  single  kind  of  work  is  correspondingly 
short.  In  the  primary  grades  periods  of  from  eight  to  twelve 
minutes,  with  a  possible  extension  to  fifteen,  will  give  sufiicient 
opportunity  for  change  of  work.  These  periods  may  be  length- 
ened to  thirty  or  even  forty  minutes  in  the  upper  grades.  The 
length  of  the  period  will  depend  upon  the  variety  which  may  be 


1 62     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

found  in  the  work  of  a  single  period.  In  a  reading  lesson  which 
includes  word  drill,  reading,  and  oral  composition,  the  maximum 
period  may  be  used,  while  a  period  devoted  to  number  drill 
may  be  worse  than  useless  after  the  first  five  or  six  minutes. 
It  is  undoubtedly  better  for  children  to  work  to  the  maximum 
of  their  capacity  for  short  periods  than  to  dawdle  for  twice  the 
time.  In  the  upper  grades  twenty  minutes  may  be  as  long 
as  children  can  work  on  the  development  of  a  difiicult  problem 
in  geography,  while  they  may  be  active  and  willing  to  continue 
work  in  a  literature  lesson  after  thirty-five  or  forty  minutes. 
The  writer  has  seen  a  class  of  seventh-grade  children  who 
worked  consistently  for  forty-five  minutes  on  a  history  prob- 
lem which  involved  discussion,  map  work,  and  the  consulting 
of  reference  works. 

Group  instruction  has  long  been  recognized  by  teachers  of 
large  classes  as  essential  to  the  best  work.  In  a  class  of  forty 
or  fifty  children,  however  carefully  they  may  have  been  graded 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  there  will  appear  differences  in 
attainment  which  make  it  necessary  to  divide  the  class  into 
two  or  more  groups  in  some  subjects,  in  order  to  work  to  best 
advantage.  In  the  lower  grades,  especially  in  the  first,  where 
grading  is  least  able  to  place  children  on  the  basis  of  their 
ability,  there  is  the  greatest  demand  for  group  work.  As 
many  as  three  or  four  classes  in  reading  may  be  necessary  in  the 
first  grade.  It  must  be  remembered  that  such  grouping  should 
never  be  made  to  apply  to  all  subjects,  nor  is  it  necessary  to 
apply  the  group  plan  to  any  subject  without  variation.  Chil- 
dren divided  into  three  groups  for  reading  may  do  very  well 
in  two  for  arithmetic,  and  may  all  work  together  in  nature 
study  or  constructive  work.  In  reading  it  will  be  worth  while 
to  have  all  work  together  at  times  on  work  which  is  possible 
for  the  least  capable  and  which  may  serve  as  a  review  for  the 
more  advanced  group. 

By  the  time  the  fourth  or  fifth  grade  is  reached,  the  pupils 
will  be  somewhat  more  evenly  graded.     It  will  still  be  necessary, 


Class  Management  163 

however,  to  group  pupils  in  those  subjects  in  which  the  se- 
quence is  such  that  the  pupils'  advance  depends  upon  the  com- 
plete mastery  of  the  part  of  the  subject  already  covered.  In 
arithmetic,  in  the  more  formal  part  of  the  work  in  English 
composition,  and  sometimes  in  geography  or  history,  two 
groups  are  advantageous. 

When  pupils  all  work  together  it  is  not  expected  that  all 
will  be  able  to  do  an  equal  amount  of  work.  It  is  especially 
important  that  provision  be  made  for  the  brighter  members 
of  the  class,  in  order  that  they  may  have  enough  work  to  keep 
them  active  and  alert.  It  too  often  happens  that  in  large 
classes  the  work  is  scaled  down  to  meet  the  ability  of  the 
poorest  half  of  the  class,  in  consequence  of  which  the  brighter 
pupils  learn  to  loaf  and  tend  to  lose  interest  in  school  work. 
However  many  groups  the  class  may  be  divided  into,  there 
will  always  be  the  necessity  for  individualizing  the  children  of 
each  section.  The  brighter  ones  must  be  given  assignments 
which  are  beyond  the  ability  of  the  less  capable,  while  a  mini- 
mum of  achievement  must  be  accepted  when  it  represents  the 
best  effort  and  means  the  continued  development  of  the  pupil 
who  is  weaker  intellectually. 

Good  teachers  provide  for  individual  needs,  not  only  by 
grouping  their  classes  on  the  basis  of  their  ability,  but  also 
by  giving  individual  instruction.  No  daily  program  should 
fail  to  provide  a  period  during  which  the  teacher  can  devote 
herself  to  the  needs  of  those  individuals  who  need  special 
help.  It  may  be  to  help  the  boy  or  girl  who  has  been  absent 
on  account  of  sickness,  to  explain  a  difficult  problem  in  arith- 
metic, to  help  in  the  interpretation  of  a  map  or  diagram,  or 
to  teach  the  pupil  how  to  study ;  always  there  will  be  plenty 
for  the  teacher  to  do  who  thinks  of  her  pupils  as  individuals 
during  the  half  hour  or  more  devoted  to  individual  instruc- 
tion. 

"  The  idea  of  providing  individual  instruction  may  be  made 
the  central  idea  in  organizing  the  daily  program,  as  is  done  in 


1 64     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

the  Batavia  system/  which  allows  one  half  of  all  school  time 
for  individual  instruction.  There  would  seem  to  be  little  need 
for  devoting  so  much  time  to  individual  instruction  in  a  school 
having  any  adequate  system  of  grading  and  promotion. 
Indeed,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out  in  the  discussion  of 
social  phases  of  the  recitation,  there  is  a  positive  advantage 
in  teaching  in  groups.  The  extravagant  claims  sometimes 
made  for  particular  systems  of  organization,  especially  when 
it  is  declared  possible  by  means  of  the  system  for  all  children 
to  reach  the  same  standard  of  excellence,  bear  on  their  face 
the  evidence  of  their  fallacy. 

Any  attempt  to  give  group  or  individual  instruction  must  be 
accompanied  by  provision  for  seat  work  for  those  who  are  not 
working  with  the  teacher.  In  the  lower  grades  much  has  been 
accomplished  by  allowing  children  to  express  themselves  with 
colored  crayons  and  paints,  with  scissors  and  paste,  as  well  as 
with  the  more  common  pencil  and  paper  for  copying,  or  the 
letters  and  words  for  word  and  sentence  building.  There  is 
probably  as  much  worth  in  the  seat  work  which  results  in  the 
expression  of  the  ideas  gained  from  a  story  by  means  of  crayons 
or  with  scissors  as  there  is  in  the  conversation  concerning  the 
story  in  class.  As  children  advance,  more  difficult  problems 
in  constructive  work  and  in  study  may  be  assigned. 

In  the  intermediate  and  upper  grades  the  problem  of  having 
children  occupied  who  are  not  directly  under  the  supervision 
of  the  teacher  is  largely  the  problem  of  teaching  these  children 
to  study.  A  child  in  the  fourth  grade  ought  to  be  able  to 
discover  and  note  carefully  the  difficulties  which  the  lesson 
assigned  presents,  and  he  should,  in  some  measure  at  least,  be 
able  to  satisfy  the  problems  which  arise.  In  succeeding  grades, 
if  children  are  being  taught  to  study,  they  ought  in  increasing 
measure  to  be  able  to  gather  data,  organize  it,  and  proceed  to 
the  solution  of  their  own  problems.^ 

*  Bagley,  Classroom  Management,  Chapter  XIV. 
^  See  discussion  of  the  study  lesson,  ante. 


Class  Ma7iagement  165 

The  conduct  of  the  recitation  has  been  discussed  at  length 
in  preceding  chapters.  It  may  be  well  to  emphasize  here  the 
more  essential  criteria.  In  a  well  managed  recitation  all  of 
the  children  are  responsible  for  the  progress  of  the  class  all 
of  the  time.  To  this  end  the  teacher  addresses  her  questions 
to  the  whole  class  before  calling  on  any  individual.  The  pupils 
are  held  responsible  for  the  answers  which  are  given.  The 
teacher  does  not  constantly  repeat  and  explain  answers. 
When  they  do  not  understand,  children  are  expected  to  ask 
each  other  questions.  To  secure  these  ends  the  class  should, 
when  possible,  be  seated  so  that  the  one  reciting  may  easily 
face  the  other  members  of  the  class.  The  ideal  seating  is 
found  in  the  kindergarten  circle.  In  a  room  with  sufficient 
space  in  front,  the  children  may  be  seated  or  may  stand  in  such 
a  way  as  to  gain  most  of  the  advantages  of  the  circle.  If 
pupils  must  sit  in  rows  of  seats  with  their  backs  to  each  other, 
it  may  help  to  have  the  children  reciting  face  the  majority, 
and  to  encourage  those  whose  backs  are  toward  the  speaker  to 
turn  in  their  seats.  It  would  seem  possible  that  we  may  some- 
time furnish  our  schoolrooms  with  reference  to  our  ideals  of 
education ;  that  a  classroom  may  sometime  become  a  place 
fitted  for  a  group  of  children  who  are  to  work  together  in  the 
solution  of  their  problems. 

The  lack  of  proper  management  of  a  class  may  hinder  the 
work  of  a  teacher  whose  work  is  excellent  in  other  respects ; 
but  no  skill  in  management,  however  efficient  in  keeping  chil- 
dren in  order,  can  take  the  place  of  good  teaching.  Most  men 
and  women  who  know  how  to  teach  learn  to  manage  a  room 
full  of  children.  There  are  still  a  few  who  call  themselves 
teachers  who  exalt  management  unduly.  For  them  the  es- 
sential elements  in  school  teaching  are  discipline,  control, 
organization.  To  the  young  teacher,  or  to  the  one  who  would 
grow,  the  ideal  of  better  teaching  must  constantly  lead 
toward  greater  efficiency.  Observe  any  successful  teacher, 
and  you  can  discover  the  devices  of  management  which  allow 


1 66     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

her  to  work  to  best  advantage,  and  the  use  which  she  makes 
of  the  opportunities  which  the  school  presents  to  develop 
self-control  and  social  responsibility  on  the  part  of  her  pupils. 


For  Collateral  Reading 

W.  C.  Bagley,  Classroom  Management,  Chapters  I  to  VIII  inclusive. 
J.  A.  H.  Keith,  Elementary  Education,  Chapters  VI  and  VII. 

Eooercises. 

1.  Distinguish  between  class  management  as  a  means  and  as  an  end. 
Give  examples  of  each. 

2.  How  would  you  hope  to  have  pupils  feel  their  responsibility  for 
good  order  in  the  class  ? 

3.  Why  do  schemes  of  "pupil  self-government"  sometimes  fail? 

4.  What  is  the  argument  in  favor  of  having  pupils  pass  into  or  out  of 
the  building  without  marching  in  line  ? 

5.  Why  is  it  important  not  to  have  the  class  periods  too  long? 

6.  Why  do  teachers  sometimes  divide  their  classes  into  two  or  more 
groups  even  though  they  are  all  of  the  same  school  grade  ? 

7.  Can  you  ever  expect  to  find  a  group  of  children  all  of  whom  will 
do  equally  well  in  all  subjects  ?     Are  the  weaker  pupils  necessarily  lazy  ? 

8.  Why  is  it  important  to  make  special  provision  for  bright  children  ? 

9.  What  is  the  relation  between  the  proper  organization  of  class 
work  and  teaching  children  how  to  study  ? 

10.  What  do  you  think  of  a  program  which  provides  for  class  in- 
struction during  every  period  of  the  day? 

11.  What  criteria  would  you  apply  in  judging  your  own  class  in- 
struction ? 

12.  What  is  "good  order"  in  a  schoolroom? 

13.  How  would  you  judge  of  the  success  of  a  teacher  in  managing  a 
class  ? 

14.  Name  all  of  the  activities  of  a  class  which  in  your  judgment  should 
be  reduced  to  routine. 

15.  What  rules  would  you  make  on  the  first  day  of  school  for  the 
guidance  of  your  pupils  ? 

16.  What  is  the  relation  of  good  teaching  to  good  class  management  ? 

17.  If  a  majority  of  the  class  are  misbehaving,  where  would  you 
expect  to  find  the  cause  ? 


CHAPTER  XVI 

LESSON  PLANS 

The  best  teachers  never  reach  the  point  where  preparation 
for  the  day's  work  is  unnecessary.  The  teacher  who  stimu- 
lates her  pupils  to  their  best  effort  must  herself  be  interested 
in  the  work  in  hand.  If  nothing  new  in  material  or  method 
is  found  to  vary  the  work,  interest  soon  lags.  The  lesson 
often  repeated  is  as  dry  and  lacking  in  power  to  interest  or 
inspire  as  the  proverbial  sermon  taken  from  the  barrel.  Even 
when  a  teacher  has  taught  a  most  successful  lesson,  it  is  dan- 
gerous to  try  to  repeat  that  exercise  in  precisely  the  same 
way.  The  two  situations  will  not  be  alike.  The  fact  that  she 
tries  to  repeat  will  take  the  edge  off  the  lesson  for  the  teacher, 
and  make  it  correspondingly  dull  for  the  pupils.  Young  and 
inexperienced  teachers  are  often  most  successful  because  of  the 
zest  with  which  they  attack  the  problems  which  are  new  to 
them.  The  older  teacher  may  be  able  to  keep  a  class  in  order 
and  teach  them  something  with  a  minimum  of  preparation ; 
but  her  best  work  will  be  done  only  when  she  has  planned  as 
carefully  as  the  novice  for  whom  the  need  of  preparation  is  so 
apparent. 

The  subject  matter  which  should  be  drawn  upon  for  any 
lesson  constantly  changes.  No  two  groups  of  children  have 
had  exactly  the  same  varieties  of  experience  ;  hence  the  need 
for  varying  the  approach,  as  well  as  the  demand  for  differences 
in  observations,  experiments,  reading,  or  other  methods  em- 
ployed to  bring  the  data  necessary  for  the  solution  of  their 
problem  before  children.  Subject  matter  is  growing,  is  being 
made  all  of  the  time.     Last  year's  discussion  of  the  geography 

167 


1 68     A  Brief  Course  i7t  the   Teaching  Process 

of  Europe,  of  South  America,  of  Africa,  or  of  Asia  will  not 
suffice  for  this  year,  because  interesting  and  important  events 
have  occurred  in  these  countries  during  the  year  intervening. 
For  the  wide-awake  teacher,  even  that  most  exact  of  the  sciences, 
mathematics,  represented  by  arithmetic  in  our  curriculum, 
will  change ;  since  the  number  aspect  of  children's  experience 
will  vary.  If  spelling  means  the  study  of  words  which  are 
needed  for  use  in  written  expression,  the  work  in  spelling  wdll 
vary  just  as  surely  as  the  occasions  for  written  expression 
vary  among  children.  No  teacher  could,  if  she  would,  repeat 
a  series  of  lessons  which  deal  with  natural  phenomena.  In  any 
field,  the  need  for  preparation  becomes  apparent  for  one  who 
would  command  the  material  which  should  be  made  available 
for  children. 

In  the  preparation  of  a  lesson  plan  the  first  and  in  some  re- 
spects the  most  important  step  is  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  subject  to  be  taught.  There  is  no  method  of  teaching 
which  can  take  the  place  of  a  thoroughgoing  knowledge  of  the 
material  which  bears  upon  the  topic  to  be  treated.  The 
teacher  who  finds  in  the  life  of  the  children  outside  of  school, 
in  school  activities,  in  books,  pictures,  magazines,  in  study  and 
travel,  material  for  her  daily  class  work,  will  make  any  course 
of  study  vital  and  interesting  to  children.  In  such  an  at- 
mosphere pupils  will  grow  not  only  in  knowledge,  but  also  in 
the  desire  to  inquire  and  investigate  and  in  powxr  to  satisfy 
their  intellectual  craving. 

After  the  teacher  has  in  hand  an  abundance  of  interesting 
material,  the  next  step  in  the  plan  is  to  organize  the  data  to  be 
presented.  Some  organization  is  usually  found  in  textbooks 
and  courses  of  study,  and  it  is  possible  simply  to  try  to  fit 
any  additional  material  which  may  have  been  collected  to  the 
scheme  provided.  The  difficulty  with  this  ready-made  or- 
ganization is  found  in  the  fact  that  it  has  little  or  no  relation 
to  the  needs  or  problems  of  the  particular  group  of  children  to 
be  taught.       Any  organization  which  is  to  be  significant  to 


Lesson  Plans  169 

children  must  take  account  of  their  point  of  view,  and  attempt 
to  present  subject  matter  in  response  to  the  need  which  they 
feel  for  the  material  to  be  presented.  This  is  precisely  what 
is  meant  by  the  difference  between  the  logical  and  psycho- 
logical methods  of  presenting  subject  matter.  Not  that  the 
psychological  method  is  illogical,  rather  it  takes  account  of  the 
child's  needs  and  is  for  him  logical  beyond  the  most  complete 
adult  logical  scheme.  It  may  seem  logical  to  the  adult  to 
teach  the  crayfish  by  calling  attention  to  the  large  parts  and 
then  to  the  smaller  parts  in  order,  or  to  deal  with  the  structure 
of  the  skeleton,  nervous  and  circulatory  systems,  connective 
tissues,  and  the  like.  To  an  eight-year-old  child,  the  problems 
which  will  probably  be  most  logical,  most  satisfying  to  his 
desire  for  investigation,  will  deal  with  the  way  in  which  the 
crayfish  gets  his  living,  how  he  protects  himself  from  his  ene- 
mies, how  he  brings  disaster  by  making  holes  in  levees,  and 
how  important  he  is  as  an  article  of  food.  In  satisfying  these 
childish  problems,  much  of  the  information  which  might  have 
been  imparted,  had  the  adult  scientific  order  been  followed, 
will  be  mastered  by  the  pupils.  Much  more  will  be  remem- 
bered, because  the  information  is  associated  with  the  solution 
of  interesting  problems.  It  may  seem  logical  in  teaching 
India  to  a  sixth-grade  class  to  treat  of  prevaihng  winds,  surface 
features,  climate,  vegetation,  animals,  mineral  products,  and 
people ;  but  the  children  whose  teacher  approached  this  sub- 
ject by  asking  them  to  try  to  discover  why  they  have  had 
such  terrible  famines  in  India  probably  remember  more  of  the 
geography  of  India  to-day  than  those  who  followed  the  adult 
logical  order.  In  organization,  then,  the  starting  point  is  to 
get  the  child's  point  of  view,  to  discover  his  problems,  and  to 
organize  the  material  to  be  presented  with  reference  to  these 
childish  aims. 

Good  organization  demands  that  material  presented  to 
satisfy  the  demand  made  by  the  child's  problem  be  grouped 
around  few  coordinate  heads. ^     Many  topics  of  equal  value 

1  McMurry,  How  to  Study,  Chapter  III. 


170     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teackiftg  Process 

in  an  outline  generally  indicate  a  lack  of  organization,  a  lack 
of  appreciation  of  the  relation  of  the  various  facts  to  be  pre- 
sented. For  example,  one  might  think  of  a  great  many  facts 
about  plant  growth ;  the  seeds  must  be  put  in  the  earth,  the 
weather  must  be  warm  enough,  they  must  have  water,  they 
need  to  be  hoed,  the  ground  should  be  fertile,  they  need  air, 
they  grow  best  when  they  have  sunlight,  they  may  have  too  much 
moisture,  in  rocky  ground  the  soil  may  not  be  deep  enough, 
they  must  not  be  too  close  together,  weeds  and  insects  must  be 
destroyed,  the  roots  should  not  be  disturbed,  the  choice  of 
the  seed  is  important,  and  so  on.  For  a  group  of  lower- 
grade  children  there  are  two  problems;  namely,  (i)  what 
kind  of  plants  do  we  want,  and  (2)  what  can  we  do  to 
make  them  grow  well.  Under  the  first  head  would  come  the 
plants  which  are  suitable  for  our  conditions  of  soil  and  cHmate, 
and  the  question  of  seed  selection.  Under  the  second  head 
the  topics  will  be  moisture,  sunlight,  air,  and  cultivation,  in- 
cluding the  destroying  of  insects  or  other  pests.  Each  of  these 
topics  will  be  suggested  in  answer  to  the  problems  which  have 
been  raised  (what  plants  we  want,  and  how  we  can  make  them 
grow  well)  by  a  group  of  children  who  have  had  any  experience 
with  growing  plants.  If  any  important  topic  is  omitted,  the 
teacher  will  call  for  it  by  a  question  which  suggests  the  lack  of 
a  complete  solution  to  the  problem  which  is  being  considered. 
This  brings  us  to  the  next  step  in  plan  making. 

<K  good  lesson  plan  will  include  pivotal  questions  which  will 
serve  to  call  for  the  data  as  indicated  by  the  main  topics  given 
in  the  organization  of  the  subject  matter.  The  problem  of 
questioning  has  been  discussed  at  some  length  in  a  previous 
chapter.^  In  planning  a  lesson,  a  question  or  two  which  will 
discover  to  the  children  the  problem  to  be  solved  should  come 
first  in  the  plan.  With  the  problem  before  the  children,  the 
function  of  the  question  is  to  stimulate  thought  in  the  direction 
of  the  solution  of  the  problem.     The  writer  is  familiar  with  the 

^  See  ante,  Chapter  XI. 


Lesson  Plans  171 

objection  that  questions  cannot  be  prepared  ahead  of  time. 

It  is  true  that  the  form  of  question  may  need  to  be  varied 
because  of  progress  or  the  lack  of  it,  not  anticipated  by  the 
teacher,  but  the  question  carefully  prepared  ahead  of  time  will 
help  rather  than  hinder  in  the  formulation  of  a  question  to  meet 
the  situation.  It  is  true,  too,  that  not  all  of  the  questions  can 
be  prepared  ahead  of  time.  All  the  more  reason  for  careful 
preparation  of  a  few  questions  which  will  enable  the  teacher 
to  prevent  wandering  by  children  during  the  development  of 
the  topic.  Thought-provoking  questions  which  guide  and 
stimulate  children  in  the  solution  of  their  problems  are  de- 
pendent upon  the  aim  which  has  been  established  and  upon 
the  organization  of  material  which  it  is  desired  to  follow  in  the 
solution  of  the  problem.  One  might  as  well  deny  the  need 
of  organizing  material,  as  to  question  the  value  of  preparing 
a  few  pivotal  questions  as  a  part  of  the  plan. 

Lessons  often  fail  because  the  ground  covered  during  the 
period  cannot  be  retraced  by  the  children  at  the  end  of  the 
exercise.  In  a  well-organized  plan  the  teacher  will  provide  for 
summaries  as  each  main  point  is  covered.  In  general  these 
summaries  should  aim  to  recall  the  subject  matter  covered  from 
the  beginning  of  the  lesson.  It  may  be  suggested  that  any 
good  teacher  summarizes  her  work  as  she  passes  from  point  to 
point  in  her  teaching,  and  that  no  artificial  reminder  is  necessary. 
The  difficulty  is  that  a  good  summary  is  not  accomplished 
merely  by  asking  for  a  recapitulation  of  the  material  covered. 
The  skillful  teacher  puts  her  question  which  involves  a  sum- 
mary in  such  form  that  the  pupils  get  a  new  view  of  the  ground 
already  covered.  In  the  experience  of  the  writer,  questions 
which  involve  a  summary  of  the  work  covered,  with  the  added 
element  of  a  new  view  as  a  stimulus  to  further  thought  on  the 
subject,  are  more  rare  than  good  questions  introducing  new 
topics. 

"^  good  plan  will  include  a  Hst  of  illustrations,  illustrative 
material,  books  including  references  to  chapter  or  page,  maps 


172     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

or  charts  which  are  to  be  consulted  during  the  recitation. 
Teacher  and  children  are  often  disappointed  because  of  the 
lack  of  materials  which  could  have  been  at  hand  had  the  teacher 
only  thought  about  the  lesson  before  teaching  it.  In  like 
manner,  the  opportunities  for  motor  expression,  other  than 
reciting  or  discussing,  should  be  noted  in  the  plan.  Dramati- 
zation, constructive  work,  graphic  representation  at  the  seat 
or  on  the  blackboard,  may  make  the  difference  between  success 
and  failure  in  a  recitation. 

A  lesson  which  has  been  well  planned  will  naturally  end  in 
the  assignment  of  work  to  be  done  in  preparation  for  the  next 
recitation.  In  the  discussion  of  any  problem  there  must  arise 
questions  which  cannot  then  be  answered.  A  good  lesson  is 
characterized  not  simply  by  the  ability  of  children  to  report 
progress,  but  quite  as  much  by  their  statement  of  the  questions 
still  unanswered.  The  direction  sometimes  given  to  call  up 
again  the  question  which  is  left  unanswered  during  the  recita- 
tion indicates  a  teacher  whose  assignments  provide  a  real 
stimulus  for  study  in  preparation  for  the  next  day's  work.  If 
it  is  necessary  to  have  a  live  problem  before  children  during 
the  recitation  conducted  by  the  teacher,  obviously  it  is  much 
more  necessary  to  make  assignments  which  involve  real  issues 
for  children  to  meet. 

In  outline  form  the  discussion  of  plan  making  given  above 
would  appear  as  given  below.  This  lesson  on  plan  making 
may  be  taken  as  an  illustration  of  the  type  of  plan  a  teacher 
should  prepare  for  a  development  lesson.  In  this  plan,  as  in 
others,  it  seems  wise  to  keep  the  subject  matter  separate  from 
the  method  of  procedure. 

A  plan  for  teaching  lesson  plans :  Their  importance  and  the 
elements  which  enter  into  their  composition. 

Teacher's  aim:  To  show  the  importance  of  plan  making  and 
to  indicate  the  elements  which  enter  into  the  construction  of 
a  good  plan. 

Preparation  (which  aims  to  get  the  problem  before  the  class). 


Lesso7t  Plans 


173 


How  do  you  prepare  for  your  day's  work  ?  Do  you  think  you 
would  do  better  work  if  you  planned  your  several  recitations 
somewhat  systematically  ? 

PupiVs  aim:  Why  do  I  need  to  make  plans,  and  what  are 
the  elements  of  a  good  plan  ? 


Subject  Matter 

Necessity  for  planning. 

A .  Lack  of  interest  in  old  work. 

B.  Subject  matter  changes. 

a.  Subjects  grow. 

b.  The  experiences  of  dif- 

ferent groups  of  chil- 
dren vary. 
C  Not  safe  to  depend  upon 
the  inspiration  of  the 
moment  for 

a.  Good  questions. 

b.  Illustrations  and  illus- 

trative material. 

c.  References  to  books  or 

magazines. 

d.  Plans  for  constructive 

work  and  the  like. 


II.  The  elements  in  a  good  plan. 


Method  of  Procedure 

Do  you  ever  grow  tired  of  teach- 
ing the  same  subject  over  and  over 
again  ? 

Why  does  a  sermon  out  of  the 
"barrel"  lack  in  interest  or  power 
to  inspire  ? 

Do  you  know  a  subject 
thoroughly  to-day  because  you 
once  studied  it? 

Why  do  different  groups  of  chil- 
dren respond  differently  to  the 
same  material? 

Formulate  three  good  questions 
which  you  might  use  in  teaching  a 
lesson  on  the  oak  tree  to  second- 
grade  children. 

Do  you  think  you  might  have 
asked  better  questions  if  you  had 
had  time  to  think  them  over? 

What  picture  or  other  illustra- 
tive material  would  you  use  in 
teaching  this  lesson? 

Do  you  think  the  children  would 
gain  by  drawing  a  picture  of  the 
oak  near  by  ? 

When  do  you  think  you  will 
have  had  enough  experience  in 
teaching  to  be  able  to  get  along 
without  making  plans? 

(The  questions  in  this  part  of 


174     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 


A.  h.    thoroughgoing    knowl- 

edge of  the  subject 
matter. 

B.  The    organization    of    ma- 

terial depends  upon 
the  problem  to  be 
solved  by  the  chil- 
dren, hence  the  neces- 
sity for  discovering  a 
problem  to  the  pupils 
which  can  be  satis- 
j&ed  by  the  subject 
matter  to  be  pre- 
sented. 

a.  Problems  essential  to 
thinking. 

h.  Logical  vs.  the  psycho- 
logical organization 
of  material. 

c.  Organization     involves 
sequence  and  the  sub- 
ordination of  less  im- 
portant points. 
McMurry,  Uow  to  Study,  Chap- 
ter III. 

C.  Pivotal  questions. 

a.  Thought-provoking 
questions  prepared  in 
advance  in  order  to 
guide  the  children  in 
the  development  of 
the  topic  as  well  as 
to  stimulate  them  to 
their  best  thinking. 

D.  Provision  for  summaries. 

a.  A  summary  enables 
children  to  keep  se- 
quence and  gives  new 
point  of  view. 

E.  Illustrative    material,    and 


the  plan  will  be  few.  I  should 
expect  questions,  suggestions,  and 
discussions  on  the  part  of  the  class. 
I  should  probably  use  the  black- 
board to  show  the  organization  of 
subject  matter  as  given  under  sub- 
ject matter.) 

What  would  you  do  first,  if  I 
asked  you  to  teach  a  lesson  on 
habit  formation? 

What  will  determine  the  organi- 
zation of  the  material  which  you 
are  to  present? 


One  cannot  prepare  all  of  the 
questions  to  be  asked  in  advance. 
What  is  the  function  of  those  ques- 
tions which  should  be  placed  in  the 
plan? 


When  children  have  been  in- 
terested throughout  the  lesson, 
why  are  they  sometimes  unable  to 
solve  for  themselves  the  problem 
which  has  been  discussed? 

What  aids  does  a  teacher  need 


Lesson  Plans 


175 


to  use  in  teaching  a  lesson  other 
than  the  textbook  and  her  own 
plan? 


references  noted  on 
the  plan. 
a.  Materials  prepared 

ahead  of  time. 
h.  References     to     maps, 
charts,    books    indi- 
cated   definitely    to 
save  time  and  con- 
serve interest. 
F,  Provision  for  assignments. 
a.  A   good    lesson   makes 
provision  for  definite 
progress  and  makes 
clear    the    questions 
yet  unsolved. 
h.  Children   need  definite 
problems  more  when 
working    by     them- 
selves at  home  than 
when       with       the 
teacher. 
Show     class     plans     found     in 
McMurry,  Method  of  the  Recitation, 
pp.    329-339;     Third    Yearbook, 
National  Society  for  the  Scientific 
Study  of   Education,   pp.    60-64; 
syllabus  on  Theory  and  Practice  of 
Teaching,  pp.  14-18. 


A  PLAN  FOR  TEACHING  THE  TOPIC  OF  IRRIGATION 


What  do  you  do  with  questions 
which  are  not  answered  during  the 
recitation  ? 


How  do  you  prepare  children  to 
work  at  their  seats,  or  at  home  ? 


Is  plan  making  worth  the  time 
and  energy  which  it  requires? 


Teacher's  aim:  To  arouse  or  increase  the  interest  of  chil- 
dren in  the  development  of  the  western  part  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  acquaint  them  with  the  problems  of  irrigation. 

What  effect  would  a  long  drought  in  this  part  of  our  country- 
have  upon  the  price  of  fruits  and  vegetables  ?  What  would  hap- 
pen if  the  drought  were  to  be  continuous  ?  There  are  arid  regions 
in  the  United  States.     Can  they  be  made  to  raise  good  crops  ? 

1  Adapted  from  a  plan  prepared  by  Lida  B.  Earhart,  Ph.D.,  for  the  author's 
syllabus  on  Theory  and  Practice  of  Teaching. 


176     A  Brief  Course  i7t  the   Teaching  Process 

PupiVs  aim:  Can  the  arid  regions  of  the  United  States  be 
made  to  raise  good  crops?  What  effect  would  that  have  on 
the  other  parts  of  the  country  ? 


Subject  Matter 

I.  Arid   regions   of    the   United 
States. 

A.  Continuous  drought. 

B.  Size  of  area.     See  maps. 

C.  Description  of  region. 
Dodge,  Adv.  Geog.,  pp.  44.    Tarr 

and  McMurry,  second  book,  p.  1 20. 
II.  Why  should  we  desire  to  re- 
claim arid  lands? 

A.  Increase     in     population 

with  consequent  in- 
creased demands  for 
food  at  home  and 
abroad. 

B.  Capital  seeks  a  good  in- 

vestment. 
III.  How  arid  regions  are  made 
productive. 

A.  Conditions   necessary   for 

plant  growth. 

a.  Fertile  soil. 

b.  Heat  and  light. 

c.  Moisture. 

B.  The  effect  of  drought  over- 

come. 

a.  In  Hmited  areas  —  by 

sprinkling. 

b.  In  extensive    areas  — 

by  irrigation. 

Tarr  and  McMurry,  p.  120. 
Dodge,  Adv.  Geog.,  p.  166. 
King,  Adv.  Geog.,  pp.  141-146. 


Method  of  Procedure 

In  what  parts  of  the  United 
States  are  the  arid  regions  located  ? 

Look  at  your  rainfall  maps. 

Name  the  states  included. 

Compare  the  population  of  the 
plateau  states  with  a  like  area  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  or  on  the 
Atlantic  coast. 

Is  it  significant  to  the  country 
as  a  whole  that  these  regions  re- 
main unproductive? 


What  would  be  the  effects  pro- 
duced in  case  these  large  tracts  of 
land  could  be  brought  under  culti- 
vation ? 

In  order  that  plants  in  the  garden 
or  crops  in  the  field  may  grow, 
what  conditions  are  necessary  ? 


When  the  lawns  or  gardens  in 
our  part  of  the  country  grow  too 
dry,  how  are  they  kept  growing? 
What  means  must  be  employed  to 
provide  water  in  very  large  areas  ? 
Are  these  means  used  in  the 
Plateau  and  Pacific  states  ?  (Class 
consult  the  references  named.) 


Lesson  Plans 


177 


C.  Sources  of  water  supply. 

a.  Rivers. 

h.  Mountain  streams  fed 

by   rain,    snow,    or 

glaciers. 

c.  Artesian  wells. 

d.  Lakes. 

Tarr  and  McMurry,  pp.  129-133. 
Dodge,  Adv.  Geog.,  p.  172. 
King,  Adv.  Geog.,  p.  142. 
Review  of  Reviews,  31 :  701-704. 

D.  The  process  of  irrigation. 

a.  Water    storage,   reser- 

voirs, dams. 

b.  Ditches  or  canals. 

c.  Surface  irrigation. 

d.  Subirrigation. 

See  geographies  quoted  under  C, 
above. 

Popular  Science  Monthly,  67 : 
648-686. 


E.  The  reclamation  service. 

a.  The  nature  of  its  work. 

b.  The  territory  affected. 
(See  the    World's    Work,   Dec, 

1907.) 

F.  How  the  government  gets 

its  money  back. 
a.  Sale  of  land  in  tracts 
not    exceeding    160 
acres    to    an    indi- 
vidual. 


Where  can  the  water  be  obtained 
for  irrigating  purposes  in  these  dry 
areas  ? 

(Conversation.  Assignment  to 
books  in  use  by  all  of  the  class. 
Assign  article  in  Review  of  Reviews, 
31 :  701-704,  to  a  pupil  as  a  special 
topic.) 


How  can  the  supply  of  water 
which  falls  during  the  rainy  season 
be  kept  for  use  during  the  dry 
season  ? 

(Assignment  of  special  topics 
relating  to  particular  subjects.) 

How  is  the  water  in  the  reser- 
voirs or  rivers  distributed  to  the 
fields  when  it  is  needed? 

(Illustrate  by  an  outdoor  lesson ; 
or  if  the  nature  of  the  country  is  not 
suited  to  illustrate  the  process,  use 
the  sand  table  and  construct  a 
system  of  irrigation  showing  reser- 
voir, main  canals,  and  the  distribut- 
ing ditches.  Assign  subirrigation 
as  a  special  topic.) 

How  does  the  United  States 
government  aid  in  reclaiming  the 
waste  lands  of  the  West? 


What  disposition  does  the  gov- 
ernment make  of  the  reclaimed 
lands  ? 


178     A  Brief  Course  m  the  Teachi7tg  Process 


b.  Payment  in  ten  equal 
annual  installments. 
Ref.  the  Cosmopolitan,  37:  715- 
722. 
The  World's  Work,  Dec,  1907. 
G.  The  effects  of  irrigation. 

a.  Upon  agriculture. 
(See  geographies  quoted  above ; 

also  the  Cosmopolitan,  37  :  718- 
722;  the  World's  Work,  Dec, 
1907.) 

b.  Upon  secondary  indus- 

tries. 

c.  Upon    population     in 

the  areas  irrigated. 
(King,    Adv.    Geog.,    pp.    152- 
154 ;  also  other  geographies  quoted 
above;    the  World's  Work,  Dec, 
1907.) 


Would  it  pay  a  man  to  buy  a 
forty-acre  tract  in  the  irrigated 
region  ?  What  crops  could  he  pro- 
duce? Value  of  crops?  (Esti- 
mated.) Where  there  are  pros- 
perous farming  communities,  what 
other  industries  are  possible  ?  Are 
they  found  in  the  irrigated  dis- 
tricts? With  agriculture,  fruit 
growing,  and  other  industries  made 
possible  and  profitable,  what  effect 
is  produced  upon  immigration  to 
the  Western  states?  What  prob- 
lems did  we  set  out  to  solve  in 
these  lessons  on  irrigation  ?  What 
is  the  answer  to  each? 

Further  topics  for  class  study : — 

1.  Value  of  forests  to  systems  of 
irrigation. 

2.  Our  relations  to  the  irrigated 
regions. 

3.  Advisability  of  introducing 
irrigation  in  the  Eastern  states. 

4.  Irrigation  in  Egypt. 

5.  Irrigation  in  India. 

Individual  assignments :  — 

1.  Economy  of  water  in  irriga- 
tion. 

2.  Fruit  growing  on  irrigated 
land. 

3.  Advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages of  farming  in  the  East  and 
in  the  West. 


Lesson  Plans 


179 


4.  Relative  value  to  a  state  of 
gold  mining  and  of  farming. 

5.  Relation  of  irrigation  in  the 
West  to  the  people  of  Europe. 

6.  To  the  people  of  the  Eastern 
states. 

The  plan  given  above  for  the  topic  ''  irrigation"  is  typical  of 
many  plans  which  the  teacher  should  make.  It  indicates  the 
development  of  the  whole  topic,  which  will  need  the  time  of 
several  recitations  for  its  complete  development.  The  topics 
given  at  the  end  of  the  plan  for  class  study  and  for  individual 
assignment  show  that  the  teacher  had  thought  over  the  prob- 
lems which  might  arise  as  the  subject  was  taught,  and  that 
she  was  ready  to  make  such  assignments  as  the  situation  de- 
manded from  day  to  day.  If  such  a  list  of  possible  assign- 
ments has  been  prepared  before  the  topic  is  taught,  the  chances 
are  that  the  ground  will  be  much  more  thoroughly  covered 
than  would  be  the  case  if  the  teacher  trusted  to  her  ability  to 
select  an  interesting  problem  at  the  end  of  each  day's  work. 
Lesson  plans  should,  as  a  rule,  cover  a  complete  unit  of  work 
or  topic.  One  plan  will  commonly  include  inductive  develop- 
ment work  in  the  derivation  of  principles,  drill  work  to  fix 
these  generalizations  or  to  give  skill  in  their  application,  and 
at  times  deductive  work  in  the  use  of  the  principles  derived 
to  explain  new  situations.  A  complete  plan  for  teaching  per- 
centage in  arithmetic  would  include  all  of  the  elements  men- 
tioned. A  lesson  for  appreciation  or  a  recitation  lesson  may 
often  be  followed  by  drill  work.  When  the  topic  lesson  plan 
has  been  prepared,  the  teacher  will  need  to  consider  from  day 
to  day  the  best  method  of  proceeding  with  the  subject.  She 
may  wish  to  vary  somewhat  the  approach  or  order  of  develop- 
ment. 


i8o     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

A  PLAN  FOR  A  DRILL  LESSON 

The  work  indicated  here  can  be  done  in  one  period.  The 
plan  is  given  as  an  illustration  of  the  principles  involved  in  good 
drill  work.  It  is  especially  necessary,  in  planning  for  lessons 
of  this  type,  to  be  ready  to  vary  the  exercises  in  order  to 
maintain  the  interest  and  attention  of  the  class.  Repetition 
with  attention  is  what  counts  for  habit  formation.  The  chil- 
dren have  been  playing  a  game  in  which  the  score  secured  by 
throwing  a  bean  bag  in  squares,  numbered  from  one  to  ten, 
has  been  multipHed  by  two  and  later  by  three.  The  class  has 
been  divided  into  sides,  and  the  competition  has  been  keen. 
They  want  to  make  larger  scores,  and,  therefore,  have  a  com- 
pelling motive  for  studying  the  next  table. 

Teacher's  aim:  To  teach  multiplication  by  four.  If  we  are 
to  make  larger  scores,  what  table  must  we  learn  next  ?  How 
many  think  they  can  learn  half  of  the  table  of  fours  to-day? 
If  you  learn  it,  we  will  play  our  game  for  ten  minutes. 

PupiVs  aim:  To  learn  the  multiplication  table  of  fours. 

Subject  Matter  Method 

4X4  =  16  Teacher  writes  the  table  on  the 

4X2=    8  blackboard,    as    indicated    under 

4  X  6  =  24  subject  matter. 

4X3  =  12  How  many  are  sure  they  know 

4  X  5  =  20  the  first  two  ?    Look  at  me  and 

answer  as  I  ask  the  results.     Don't 
answer  unless  you  are  sure. 

Now  let  us  take  the  first  three. 
Proceed  as  before. 

I'll  erase  the  first  three.    Look 
at    them    carefully.     Now    write 
them  on  your  tablets. 
4X4=     4X2=     4X6= 
Don't  write  the  answers  unless 
you  are  sure  you  are  right. 


Lesson  Plans  i8i 

Let  four  or  five  children  read 
their  answers. 

Margaret  may  ask  for  answers. 
She  drills  on  the  first  three  com- 
binations. 

The  other  two  are  easy  to  re- 
member, —  four  times  three  we 
know ;  it  is  the  same  as  three  times 
four,  and  four  times  five  are  twenty 
we  can  all  remember.  Look  care- 
fully; I  am  going  to  erase  them. 

Drill  by  teacher  on  last  two 
combinations. 

All  combinations  put  on  board 
again  and  read  and  written  by 
children. 

Robert  tries  to  discover  whether 
there  is  any  girl  who  has  forgotten 
any  part  of  the  table. 

Katharine  tries  to  catch  the 
boys. 

All  write  at  the  dictation  of  the 
teacher,  supplying  the  products. 

The  game  is  then  played.  When 
any  one  makes  a  mistake  in  record- 
ing his  score  on  the  blackboard, 
his  side  is  penalized  the  amount  of 
his  mistake. 


Possibly  all  the  plans  the  experienced  teacher  needs  for  the 
lesson  outlined  above  are  a  few  notes  concerning  the  variations 
to  be  introduced  from  time  to  time  in  the  drill.  She  must  plan, 
however,  to  put  zest  into  the  lesson  by  means  of  the  variety 
which  she  introduces,  and  she  must,  if  she  is  to  get  th^  best 
work,  provide  some  motive  which  will  make  the  drill  work 
seem  worth  while  to  the  children. 


1 82     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 


A   LESSON   ESSENTIALLY  DEDUCTIVE 

A  part  of  a  larger  topic  plan  on  taxation.  The  children 
have  begun  the  study  of  taxation  by  inquiring  how  police- 
men, street  cleaners,  firemen,  and  other  city  employees  are 
paid ;  how  money  is  secured  to  run  the  schools,  to  provide 
water,  and  the  like. 

Teacher^ s  aim:  To  teach  how  to  determine  the  amount  of 
taxes  to  be  paid  when  the  assessed  value  of  the  property  and 
the  rate  of  taxation  are  known. 

George,  did  you  find  out  the  assessed  valuation  of  your 
father's  house  and  lot? 

Henry,  did  you  find  the  rate  on  real  estate  ? 

Pupil's  aim:  Let  us  try  to  find  out  how  much  tax  George's 
father  must  pay  on  his  house  and  lot. 


Subject  Matter 

A  knowledge  of  percentage  is 
assumed. 

To  find  the  percentage  we  mul- 
tiply the  base  by  the  rate. 

House  is  worth  $3500.     Rate  of 
taxation  is  $1.80  on  the  hundred 
dollars. 
$1.80  on    one     hundred     dollars 

35  times  $1.80   would   be   the 
900    amount    due  on  thirty-five 
540     hundred. 
$63.00 

Taxation  is  simply  an  applica- 
tion of  percentage. 


Method  of  Procedure 

If  you  want  to  find  six  per  cent 
of  $3500,  how  do  you  proceed? 

If  George's  father  pays  $1.80  on 
each  hundred  dollars,  how  can  you 
tell  how  much  he  must  pay  on 
thirty-five  hundred  dollars  ? 

Do  you  discover  in  this  example 
anything  like  the  problems  in 
which  you  find  a  certain  per  cent 
of  a  given  sum? 

Find  .018  (itV  per  cent)  of 
$3500.  If  you  multiply  the  as- 
sessed value  by  the  rate,  will  you 
get  the  amount  of  the  tax  ? 

Why  must  you  point  off  two 
places  ? 

Do  you  think  you  can  find  the 
amount  of  the  tax  to  be  paid  on 
any  house  and  lot  in  the  city,  if  I 
tell  you  how  much  the  assessed 
value  of  the  house  is  ? 


Lesson  Plans  183 

Houses  worth    $4,250  Is  the  rate  of  taxation  the  same 

$18,400  on  all  houses? 

*i>26o  Teacher  gives  problems  to  the 

$i>5oo  whole  class  and  has  each  explained 

*7j5oo  in  turn  on  the  board. 

^  For  to-morrow  you  may  solve 

q>i  2,000  ^^  following  problems  (written  on 

How  much  tax  must  each  pay  ?       t^g  board) : 

Assessed  Rate  of 

Valde  Taxation 

$4,200  $2.20 

$16,750  $1-35 

$425,000  $1.90 

$1,000  $0.78 

$56,000  $1.64 

$400 $2.18 


PLAN   FOR   A   SERIES   OE    TOPICS   IN   HISTORY  —  SIXTH   GRADE 

A  plan  covering  the  work  for  several  weeks  given  in  the  form 
of  a  topical  outline  with  suggestions  as  to  methods  of  treatment. 
This  general  plan  would  need  to  be  supplemented  by  definite 
additional  preparation  from  day  to  day.  This  plan  was  pre- 
pared by  Miss  Lida  Lee  Tall,  supervisor  of  grammar  grades, 
Baltimore  County,  Maryland. 

Aim:  To  teach  the  colonization  of  Maryland  and  show  its 
development  as  a  part  of  England's  colonial  empire  in  the  New 
World. 

Topical  Outline  {for  the  Teacher) 

I.   Conditions  in  Europe  at  the  time  of  the  settlement  of 

Maryland. 
11.    Conditions  in  the  New  World. 
III.   Life  of  George  Calvert. 
a.  In  England. 
b  In  the  New  World. 


184     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

IV.  The  settlement  of  Maryland. 
V.   The  development  of  Maryland. 

Textbooks 
Any  good  history  of  England,  as  Walker's,  Gardiner's,  or  An- 
drews'. 
Warren.     Stories  from  English  History. 
Harding.     Stories  of  the  English. 
Mowry.     First  Steps  in  the  History  of  England. 
Browne.     Maryland  :  the  History  of  a  Palatinate. 
Cheyney.     European  Background  of  American  History. 
Cheyney.     A  Short  History  of  England. 
Hall.     Lords  Baltimore  and  the  Maryland  Palatinate. 
Gambrill.     Leading  Events  of  Maryland  History  (class  text). 
Coman  and  Kendall.     History  of  England. 

TOPIC  I :   CONDITIONS  IN  EUROPE  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH 

CENTURY 


Subject  Matter 

1,  Monarch.     King  James. 

2.  Incidents  of  the  reign  that  will 

help  interpret  the  life  of 
the  times : 

(Religious 
Political 
Commercial. 


vam 
arrogant 
weak 
Character    of    amiable 

the  King  \  loved  peace  at 
all  costs 
ambitious 
approved 
learning 


Method  of  Procedure 

Much  of  the  work  can  be  de- 
veloped from  assigned  readings  for 
which  the  pupils  must  be  held 
responsible.  Where  textbooks  are 
not  available  the  teacher,  or  a 
pupil  who  reads  well,  may  read  to 
the  class.  Of  course,  the  assign- 
ment must  be  very  definite.  For 
example : 

a.  As  you  read  see  if  you  can 
tell  from  incidents  in  the 
story  the  kind  of  man  King 
James  must  have  been. 
You  must  argue  for  what 
you  think  about  him. 

h.  England  was  interested  par- 
ticularly in  Spain,  Holland, 
France,  and  the  New  World, 


Lesson  Plans 


185 


'  Sir       Walter 

Raleigh. 
Sir       Robert 
Cecil 

Men  of  Eng-    George  Cal- 
land  vert 

Cromwell 
Guy  Fawkes 
Robert  Carr 
Francis  Bacon 
Reason  for  England's  interest 

in  other  countries : 
a.  Trade. 

h.  Spain's  success  in  coloni- 
zation in  the  New 
World. 

c.  Spain's  usurpation  of  Hol- 

land. 

d.  Increase  in  woolen  manu- 

facture in  England. 

Topics  of  the  day  at  the  Eng- 
lish court : 

a.  Spanish  king  and  his 
power. 

h.  Spanish  resources. 


New  World. 

Religion. 

England's 
trading 
com- 
panies 


Stock 

companies. 
Proprietary 

privileges. 


As  you  read  find  out  why 
this  was  so. 

Half  the  class  may  be  given  the 
first  assignment,  the  other  half  the 
second. 

When,  at  the  close  of  the  study 
period,  the  teacher  calls  for  the 
work,  it  will  be  through  her  se- 
quence of  questions  that  the  sub- 
ject matter  will  be  organized  ac- 
cording to  the  outline  under 
"Subject  Matter."  If  the  discus- 
sions are  lively  and  argumentative, 
the  spirit  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury will  be  felt  and  the  life  of  the 
time  pictured.  Pictures  of  castles, 
London  streets,  Ireland,  the  con- 
tinent, sea  vessels,  etc.,  will  help 
to  make  impressions  more  vivid. 
Topic  6  makes  a  good  summary 
and  can  be  conducted  in  a  way  to 
make  the  work  most  attractive  to 
the  pupils. 


TOPIC  II:    CONDITIONS  IN  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Subject  Matter  Method  of  Procedure 


1.  Spanish  America. 

2.  French  America. 

3.  English  and  Dutch  America. 


Assign  readings  from  available 
textbooks. 

A  further  assignment  which  cor- 


1 86     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

relates  with  geography  is  the  fol- 
lowing :  Draw  a  map  of  the  world ; 
show  Old  World;  show  New 
World ;  color  the  part  of  the  New 
World  that  belonged  to  Spain,  to 
France.  Also  draw  a  map  of 
Europe;  show  the  Catholic  coun- 
tries, show  the  Protestant  coun- 
tries. 

As  the  teacher  develops  the 
lesson  from  the  class,  by  means  of 
thought-provoking  questions,  she 
can  make  an  outline  on  the  board, 
the  class  helping ;  then  this  outUne 
may  be  copied  by  the  pupils  in 
notebooks  used  for  history  lessons 
only.  These  outlines  should  serve 
as  summaries  and  also  as  reviews 
as  the  lessons  continue. 

TOPIC  III:    LIFE  OF   GEORGE   CAL\^RT 


Subject  Matter 


Method  of  Procedure 


I.  George  Calvert  in  England  at 
this  time. 
a.  Early  life: 

Born    in  Yorkshire    (lo- 
cate). 
Educated  at  Oxford  (pic- 
ture of  school). 

Traveled    on    the    Con- 
tinent   (map    showing 
university  towns) . 
h.  Later  life: 

Important  position  in  Eng- 
land. 
Interests     in     the     New 
World :     Trade :     reU- 
gion. 


I.  Assigned  reading  for  class: 
Gambrill,  pp.  3-6. 

Teacher  may  fill  in  with  details 
from  Browne's  Maryland,  or  Hall's 
Lords  Baltimore  and  the  Palat- 
inate. Much  of  this,  however, 
may  be  developed.  By  this  time 
the  class  will  have  been  put  into  a 
mental  attitude,  both  historically 
and  geographically,  to  answer  prob- 
lems very  intelUgently. 


Assignment  for  map  work : 
A     map     of    England  —  locate 
Yorkshire,  Oxford,  London. 


Lesson  Plans 


187 


2.  George  Calvert. 
World : 
a.  Newfoundland. 
Management. 


In  the  New 


Difficulties 
encountered 


Climate 
SoU 
The 
French 
Disappointment  and  de- 
parture. 
h.  In  Virginia 

Reception  unwelcome  be- 
cause of  religion,  char- 
ter   troubles,    business 
relations. 
Result. 
3.  His  return  to  England. 
New  charter  from  Charles  I. 
Death  of  George  Calvert. 


A  map  of  Europe  showing 
George  Calvert's  travels  on  the 
Continent. 

2.  (a)  Draw  a  map  of  the  New 

World  showing  New- 
foundland and  other 
settlements  of  that 
time. 
Why  was  Newfoundland 
bought  ? 
(6)  Why  in  Virginia  and  not 
Plymouth  ? 

3.  Textbook  assignment. 


TOPIC  IV:    THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  MARYLAND 


Subject  Matter 

I.  Cecilius  Calvert  —  To  carry 
out  his  father's  plan  of 
making  a  settlement  in 
the  New  World. 

a.  Conditions    of    the    new 
charter.        (Gambrill, 
pp.  6-8.) 

ia)  Rights  and  duties  of 
the  proprietor. 

{h)  Rights  and  duties  of 
the  colonists. 

Kind  of  man  necessary  to 
rule  the  colony 
wisely. 


Method  of  Procedure 

I.  Assigned  reading:  Gam- 
brill,  pp.  6-8. 

As  has  been  indicated,  where  no 
problem  development  is  possible, 
use  textbooks  or  the  teacher's 
wealth  of  details  to  fill  in  the  con- 
necting links.  The  texts  should 
be  read  just  when  the  need  for  the 
information  arises:  for  instance, 
when  it  is  necessary  to  know  the 
conditions  of  the  charter  granted 
to  Cecilius  Calvert,  the  books 
should  be  opened,  the  page  found, 
the  page  or  paragraph  read  silently 
by  the  class,  and  the  information 
then  given. 


1 88     A  Brief  Course  m  the  Teaching  Process 


b.  Preparation  for  the  trip: 
Hostility  of 
the  old  Lon- 
don Co. 
Difficulties  <  Objections  to 
the  charter 
by  Clai- 
borne. 


Getting 
ready  at 
Grave- 
send 


Men   for 
the  ex- 
pedi- 
tion 


The  Ark. 
The        Dove, 
_     Nov.,  1633. 
Men  bound  to 
service  (prob- 
ably   Protes- 
tants), 300. 
Freemen  (prob- 
ably    Catho- 
lics) ,  20 ; 
priests,  2. 
Members  of  the 
Calvert 
family. 
Stop  at  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
Ofif  for  the  voyage. 
2.  The  voyage. 

a.  The  stop  at  the  Barbadoes. 
(It  is  necessary  that 
the  class  understand 
something  of  Eng- 
land's colonial  terri- 
tory at  the  time: 
England  colonized 
Barbadoes  in  1625, 
after  it  had  been 
depopulated  by  the 
Spanish.  The  island 
had,  therefore,  been 
under  English  con- 
trol for  eight  years. 
It  was  possible  that 


If  the  previous  situations  have 
been  vividly  presented,  then  the 
problem  of  the  difficulties  of  get- 
ting such  a  trip  under  way  that 
confronted  CeciHus  Calvert  should 
be  eagerly  discussed  by  the  class. 
There  can  be  map  work  —  Eng- 
land: locate  Gravesend,  Isle  of 
Wight ;  also  make  the  flag  of  Eng- 
land under  which  the  expedition 
sailed.  (The  flag  of  1608  was  the 
united  flag  of  England  and  Scot- 
land, the  flag  of  St.  George  and  St. 
Andrew  combined.  Lord  Balti- 
more's own  banner  can  be  made 
^nd  colored,  though  it  was  not 
known  to  have  been  used  until  the 
battle  of  Severn;  it  was  adopted 
as  the  state  flag  in  1904.) 

2.  The  voyage  can  be  treated  as 

a  recall  of  the  knowl- 
edge gained  from  the 
celebration  of  a  holiday 
like  Maryland  Day  in 
a  previous  grade,  or  an 
outline    map    may   be 
drawn  and  pupils  may 
trace  the  route  if  they 
can. 
(More  map  work  can  follow  to 
indicate  the  stop  at  the  Barbadoes, 
the  route  up  the  Atlantic  to  Old 
Point  Comfort,  another  stop,  and 
on  to  Blackiston  Island.) 

a.  Why  was  a  stop  at   the 

Barbadoes  planned  ? 

b.  Why  was  a  stop  at  Point 

Comfort  planned  ? 

3,  4,  5,  6.  From  the  landing  on 

Blackiston  Island  to  the 
end    of    this    topic    the 


Lesson  Plans 


189 


the  Ark  and  the 
Dove  carried  mail 
for  the  Barbadoes. 
The  colonists 

stopped  for  three 
weeks,  in  that  time 
repairing  the  ves- 
sels, securing  negro 
slaves,  and  buying 
supplies,  among 

which  was  seed  corn 
for  the  Maryland 
settlement.) 
h.  The  stop  at  Point  Com- 
fort. —  Letters  from 
Cecilius  Calvert  and 
the  king  were  to  be 
delivered  with  great 
respect,  by  the  hands 
of  a  messenger  who 
was  comformable  to 
the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, to  Sir  John 
Harvie,  the  governor 
of  the  Virginias. 

3.  The  landing  on  Blackiston's 

Island,  March  25, 
1634.  Why  not  a 
suitable  place  for  a 
permanent  settle- 
ment? 

4.  The  visit  to  the  Pascataway 

Indians.  The  sale 
of  the  Yaocomaco 
Village.  The  ad- 
vantages of  such  an 
arrangement  with 
native  Indians. 

5.  The  settlement  on  St.  George's 

Creek,  afterward 
known  as  St.  Mary's 


method  followed  should 
be :  developing  ques- 
tions, with  the  use  of  a 
textbook  which  should 
be  read  either  before  the 
lesson  or  after  the  de- 
velopment in  order  to 
verify  conclusions  made ; 
but  this  must  be  left  to 
the  judgment  of  the 
teacher  and  her  own 
individual  plan  for  deal- 
ing with  the  subject. 
Assigned  reading :  Gam- 
brill,  pp.  17-19. 

7.  For  the  life  in  the  colonies, 
reading  periods  may  be 
occupied  with  readings 
from  any  good  book  that 
gives  a  graphic  account 
of  the  times,  such  as 
Alice  Morse  Earle's 
Rome  Life  in  the  Colo- 
nies. If  the  sand  table 
is  used,  the  children 
should  consult  these 
books.  Another  way  to 
vary  the  procedure,  if 
there  are  books  enough, 
is  to  assign  readings  and 
let  the  pupils  bring  to 
the  class  accounts  of  the 
details  of  the  life  in  the 
colonies  that  seemed 
most  interesting  to  them 
individually. 

In  the  Affairs  of  Interest  it 
will  be  necessary  for  the 
teacher  to  tell  about  the 
conditions  in  England. 
Howry,     Guerber,     or 


IQO     A  Brief  Course  hi  the   Teaching  Process 


Creek.     The  settle- 
ment    was    named 
Augusta  Carolina. 
6.  The  favorable  conditions  of 
the  settlement. 

a.  Spring  of  the  year. 

h.  Houses  of  the  Indians  (log) 
could  be  occupied 
temporarily  by  the 
settlers  while  decid- 
ing upon  sites  for 
building. 

c.  Aid  of  friendly  Indians : 

1.  Routes     through     the 

country. 

2.  Protection. 

3.  Education      —      corn 

planting,  harvesting, 
clipping  tobacco, 
hunting  game,  fish- 
ing, cHmate. 

4.  Land       was       already 

cleared  and  culti- 
vated. 

d.  Condition    of     plantation 

grants : 

A  man  with  five  persons  — 
2000  acres. 

A  man  with  less  than  five 
—  100  acres  for  self ; 
100  acres  for  wife; 
100  acres  for  each 
child  under  sixteen 
years ;  100  acres  for 
each  servant ;  100 
acres  for  each  la- 
borer. 

e.  Physical  features  of  coun- 

try for  tobacco  in- 
dustry : 


Warren  may  have  all 
the  information  neces- 
sary for  this  purpose, 
but  Cheyney's  European 
Background  of  American 
History  should  be 
studied  by  the  teacher. 
The  European  back- 
ground can  be  very 
simply  drawn. 
The  Kent  Island  affair  may 
be  read  before  being  dis- 
cussed, but  there  is  good 
problem  work  there,  and 
the  better  plan  would  be 
to  read  the  text  last. 
Text:  Gambrill,  pp.  21- 
25,  99-111. 
References: 

Tudor  Jenks,  When  America  was 
New. 

Chap.    IV,    ''Mary- 
land and  the  Dutch." 
Chap.       V,      "New 
World  Living." 

Chap.     IX,    "What 
the     Colonists    Klnew 
and  Thought." 
Wm.  H.  Browne,  Maryland,  The 
History  of  a  Palatinate. 
Alice  Morse  Earle,  Home  Life  in 
Colonial  Days. 
The     chapters    on     Virginia 
plantation  life  will  serve 
to  show  the  Hfe  in  Mary- 
land colony  also.     The 
material    is  as    follows: 
Light,  Kitchen,  Fireside, 
Serving  Meals,  Food  of 
Forest  and  Sea,  Indian 
Corn,  Meat  and  Drink, 


Lesson  Plans 


191 


Tide  water. 

Estuaries  —  wharves     for 
each  plantation. 

7.  Life  in  the  colony : 

a.  Plantation  —  extent, 

sheds  for  drying 

tobacco, 
slave    quarters, 
barns, 

rolHng  roads, 
chapel, 
house. 
h.  Food  —  wild  turkey, 
venison, 
oysters 
hominy, 
corn  pone. 

c.  Amusements  —  hunting, 

dancing, 
singing  by 
slaves. 

d.  Travel — boats, 

horse. 

e.  Affairs  of  interest  —  Vir- 

ginia news. 
Claiborne's  trading  post  in 

the  Chesapeake. 
Relations  with  the  Indians. 
EngHsh  politics  (Charles  I, 

Cromwell,    and    ParHa- 

ment.) 
MiHtary  arrangements  in 

the  settlement. 
Currency  for  trading. 
Need  for  an  assembly  to 

settle  matters  in  a  legal 

way. 

/.   First  Assembly  —  1635. 
Matters  taken  up  —  Boun- 
daries, 


Flax  Culture,  Wool  Cul- 
ture and  Spinning,  Girls' 
Occupation,  Dress  of  the 
Colonists,  Jack-knife  In- 
dustries, Travel,  Trans- 
portation and  Taverns, 
Colonial  NeighborHness, 
Sunday,  Oldtime  Flower 
Gardens. 


192     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

Military  protection, 

Claiborne  trouble, 

Framing  laws  to  be  sent 
to  Cecilius  Calvert,  the 
proprietor  in  England. 
g.  Sending  back  these  laws; 
also  letters,  and  prod- 
ucts, as  well  as  the  two 
Indian  arrows  required 
by  the  king. 

An  interesting  account  of 
the  arrival  and  depar- 
ture of  the  trading  ships 
can  be  given.  They 
came  from  November  to 
January,  and  the  cap- 
tains were  entertained 
at  the  different  planta- 
tions. They  brought 
new  settlers,  indentured 
servants,  more  slaves, 
letters  from  England, 
news  of  the  world. 
h.  Trouble  in  the  colony.  h.  Text-book        assignment : 

Claiborne  on  Kent  Island.  Gambrill,  pp.  27-30,  34- 

Virginia's  hostility.  47. 

Troubles  with  the  Indians 
—  Susquehannoughs  and 
Pocomokes. 

Civil  War  in  England. 

TOPIC  V:   DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  COUNTRY  AND  REPRE- 
SENTATIVE GOVERNMENT 

Subject  Matter  Method  of  Procedure 

I.  Assemblies —  i.  Discuss   the  organization  of 

First  Assembly  in  1635.  the  several  assemblies. 

Second    Assembly    in    1638.  Explain  hundreds. 

Why  three  years  later         Text-book :  Gambrill,  pp.  14-19 ; 
than  first?  '  penal  laws;    prisons,   21-23;    ju- 

dicial courts,  63-68. 


Lesson  Plans  193 


What  was  its  organization? 
Freemen,  governor, 
and  Council.  Im- 
portance. 

Third  Assembly  in  1659. 

Representatives  from  the  hun- 
dreds making  a  House 
of  Burgesses,  gov- 
ernor, and  Council. 

2.  The  Claiborne  affair  and  its 

settlement. 
%.  The  effect  of  the  Civil  War  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8.  Text-book  As- 


in  England  upon  the  signments :  To  be  given  by 

colonies :  teacher. 

a.  Colonies  in  general : 

1.  Increase  or  decrease  in 

population  according 
to  the  sentiments  of 
the  colonists  regard- 
ing the  questions  in 
England. 

2.  Strife       in       colonies. 

Councils  called  on  to 
decide  for  or  against 
king  or  ParUament. 

3.  Effect  on  commerce. 

h.  Upon    Maryland   in   par- 
ticular : 

1.  Increase     in     Catholic 

population. 

2.  Caused  strife  and  dis- 

sension. 

3.  Return  of  Leonard  Cal- 

vert to  England  for 
advice;  Giles  Brent 
left  governor  pro  tern. 

4.  Invasion  of  Ingle. 

5.  Ingle  and  Claiborne. 


194     ^  Brief  Course  in  the  Teachi^ig  Process 

6.  Leonard    Calvert's    re- 

turn from  England. 

7.  Leonard  Calvert's 

refuge  in  Virginia. 

8.  Return  of  Calvert  and 

restoration  of  the 
colony  under  his  gov- 
ernment. 

9.  Death  of  Leonard  Cal- 

vert, June  9,  1647. 
Thomas    Greene   made 
governor  pro  tern,  by 
Leonard   Calvert  on 
his  deathbed. 

4.  The  appointing  of  a  new  gov- 

ernor by  the  pro- 
prietor and  the  re- 
organization of  the 
government :  Factor 
in  this  —  Civil  War ; 
the  Protestants  in 
power  in  England. 
I.  William  Stone  ap- 
pointed governor. 
Effect  —  he  chose 
Protestants  for  his 
Council,  from  those 
brought  into  Mary- 
land from  Virginia. 
They  made  a  settlement 
on  Severn  River. 

5.  Trouble    with    the    Puritans 

resulting  in  the  battle 
of  the  Severn. 

6.  Reconcilement  with  Virginia. 

7.  Change    in    organization    of 

government  — 

Upper  House. 

Lower  House. 

Due   to   growth   of   colony; 


Lesson  Plans  195 

freemen ;    indentured 

slaves    who    became 

freemen. 
8.  Removal   of   the   capital   to  8.  For  "Life  in  Annapolis"  see 

Annapolis.  Churchill's  Richard  Carvel: 

Chapter  on  "Christmas  at 
Carvel  Hall."  This  should 
be  read  to  the  class. 

Note.  —  Here  the  development  of  the  Maryland  colony  may  be 
closed  because  of  the  political  difficulties  which  are  entirely  beyond  the 
experience  of  the  sixth-year  child.  The  French  and  Indian  Wars  might 
be  studied;  also  the  opening  up  of  western  Maryland  by  the  coming 
of  the  Germans ;  but  the  main  point  has  been  accompHshed.  The  chil- 
dren have  worked  their  way  through  the  study  by  Hving  in  the  conditions 
of  the  colony  and  solving  Leonard  Calvert's  problems  for  him.  To 
work  such  a  plan  out  in  detail,  to  give  just  enough  to  whet  the  appetite 
of  the  child  and  then  make  him  think  for  himself,  to  have  him  hve  as 
a  colonist  of  the  times,  interested  particularly  in  the  details  of  govern- 
ment that  concern  the  colonists  as  a  united  body  until  finally  a  "two 
house"  legislature  is  demanded  because  of  the  growth  in  population, 
area  occupied,  and  interests  represented,  is  a  task  for  the  skill  of  the 
teacher,  and  is  worth  while. 

LiDA  Lee  Tall, 
Baltimore  County  Schools. 


A  LESSON  IN  NATURE  STUDY  INVOLVING  A  REAL  PROBLEM 

This  lesson  was  planned  and  taught  very  successfully  in  the 
third  grade  by  Miss  Roxana  A.  Steele  of  the  Speyer  School, 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 

Teacher's  aims:  — • 

1.  To  teach  pupils  why  and  how  to  transplant. 

2.  To  prepare  for  the  transplanting  of  the  salvia  plants  in 
our  school  garden. 

PupiVs  aims: 

1.  To  be  able  to  select  good  plants  for  transplanting. 

2.  To  know  how  to  transplant  in  order  to  plant  salvia  plants 
without  help. 


196     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 


Subject  Matter 

Box  of  young  salvia  plants  for 
observation  and  comparison  with 
cabbage  and  tomato  plants. 

(Salvia  plants  to  be  transplanted 
into  garden  later.) 

Advantages  of  transplanting: 

Plants  get  an  early  start. 

Opportunity  for  good  arrange- 
ment. 

Disadvantages: 

Extra  work. 

Extra  care. 


Cabbage  and  tomato  plants  dis- 
carded by  Teachers  College  gar- 
dener. 
I.  Choice  of  Plants. 
Very  small  plants : 
Do  not  root  well. 
Are  slow  in  getting  started. 
Large  plants : 

Stalks  too  long  and  weak. 

Bend  very  easily. 

If  used,  need  to  be  planted 

deep. 
Roots  have  not  had  room 
enough  in  hotbed. 

Medium-sized,  strong  plants : 
Best  for  planting. 
Good  roots. 
Good  stalk. 
Green  leaves. 


Method  of  Procedure 

What  are  we  planning  to  do  with 
our  salvia  plants  when  they  are  a 
Httle  larger? 

Why  didn't  we  plant  the  salvia 
seeds  in  the  garden  ? 

What  are  some  of  the  advan- 
tages of  transplanting?  disad- 
vantages ? 


How  many  children  feel  that 
they  know  just  the  best  way  to 
transfer  a  plant  ?  (Pupils'  Aim.) 
Do  you  think  we  can  afford  to 
practice  with  the  salvia  plants 
when  we  have  so  few?  Who  can 
suggest  a  good  way  to  learn  to 
transplant  ? 

Let  us  look  at  those  cabbage 
and  tomato  plants  which  I  have 
brought  from  Teachers  College 
and  see  what  we  think  about  them. 
These  are  from  the  box  from 
which  plants  were  selected  by  the 
gardener  last  week. 

I  shall  divide  the  plants  into 
small,  large,  and  medium-sized. 
Tell  which  you  think  are  best  for 
transplanting  and  why. 

Why  would  you  not  select  the 
very  small  ones?  the  very  large 
ones? 

When  a  gardener  has  not  enough 
fine,  straight  plants,  can  you  think 
of  a  way  of  planting  by  which  he 
might  use  a  crooked  plant? 


Lesson  Plans 


197 


Crooked  plants. 

Can  be  straightened   by  the 


sun. 


II.  Manner  of  Planting. 

Preparation  of  hole. 

Water  at  roots. 

Planted  deep  enough  for  branch- 
ing of  first  leaves  to  be  but  an 
inch  or  two  above  ground. 

Earth  pressed  firmly  around 
plant. 

Practice  planting  of  cabbage 
and  tomato  plants  in  a  box 
of  earth. 

Trowel. 

Choice  of  plant. 

Water. 

Account  of  what  is  being  done. 
Summary. 

How  to  select  a  plant  for  trans- 
planting. 

How  to  plant  it. 


Now  that  we  know  what  kind  of 
a  plant  to  select,  can  you  think  of 
something  else  we  must  learn  be- 
fore we  are  ready  to  transplant 
our  salvia  plants? 

(Statement  of  Pupils'  Aim.) 

Can  you  think  of  some  things 
which  might  help  a  very  young 
plant  to  get  a  good  start? 

Has  any  child  ever  seen  a  farmer 
plant  cabbage  or  tomato  plants? 
Tell  us  exactly  how  he  did  it  and 
why. 

Several  children  who  can  select 
a  good  plant  may  plant  them  in 
this  box  of  earth.  The  class  will 
decide  whether  they  are  good  gar- 
deners. 

Each  child  will  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  plant  a  salvia  plant  in 
the  garden.  Can  you  tell  which 
plants  will  be  most  liable  to  grow 
weU? 


A    LESSON    PLAN    IN    GEOGRAPHY    WHICH    IS     PREDOMINANTLY 

DEDUCTIVE 

The  study  of  maps  forms  the  basis  for  inferences  which  are 
later  verified  by  referring  to  the  text.  This  plan  was  written  by 
Miss  Mary  F.  Kirchwey  of  the  Horace  Mann  School,  Teachers 
College,  Columbia  University.  This  lesson  was  most  success- 
fully taught  to  sixth-grade  pupils  in  the  Horace  Mann  School. 
Teacher's  aim:  To  teach  the  geography  of  India  and  to  give 
practice  in  the  application  of  principles  of  geography  known 
by  the  pupils. 


198     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

Children's  aim:  Why  do  they  have  such  terrible  famines  in 
India? 


Subject  Matter 


Failure  of  crops  —  dense  popula- 
tion directly  dependent  upon  agri- 
culture for  a  living  —  lack  of  suffi- 
cient means  of  transportation. 

We  have  abundant  rainfall  — 
temperature  favorable  to  crops  — 
great  land  area  in  proportion  to  our 
population. 

In  Egypt  —  even  as  far  back  as 
in  the  days  of  Joseph  (Bible)  — 
also  in  recent  years. 

Nile's  overflow  less  abundant 
than  usual  —  dense  population. 


Location  and  approximate  extent 
of  the  Indus  Valley. 


Between  latitudes  23°  and  30°  N. 
the  temperature  is  warm. 

Florida  is  in  about  the  same 
latitude,  but  the  extremes  of  tem- 
perature are  not  so  great  owing  to 
the  water  mass  that  surrounds  it 
and  tempers  both  heat  and  cold. 


Method  of  Procedure 

What  is  a  famine? 

Suihcient  conversation  to  im- 
press upon  the  children  the  suffer- 
ing attendant  upon  famine. 

What  are  some  of  the  conditions 
that  bring  about  a  famine? 


Have  you  ever  heard  of  famines 
in  our  coimtry?    Why  not? 


In  what  part  of  the  world  have 
you  heard  of  famines  ? 

What  were  some  of  the  causes 
of  famine  in  Egypt? 

The  Indus  Valley  in  India  is 
one  of  the  regions  that  is  subject 
to  terrible  famines.  Let  us  see  if 
we  can  find  the  reason  for  it. 

Point  out  the  Indus  on  the  map. 
Where  does  it  rise  ?  Where  empty  ? 
Draw  your  pointer  along  the  length 
of  the  valley  —  across  it. 

In  what  latitude  is  it? 

What  temperature  conditions 
must  prevail  there?  What  part 
of  North  America  is  in  about  the 
same  latitude?  What  do  you 
know  about  the  temperature  of 
Florida?  Do  you  think  that  the 
Indus  Valley  has  about  the  same 
temperature?    Look   carefuUy  at 


Lesson  Plans 


199 


Isothermal  maps  for  January 
and  July  verify  the  class  conclu- 
sions. 

Jan.  Juxy. 

Indus  Valley,  4o°-6o°      90° 
Florida  5o°-6o°      80° 


Rainfall. 


Indus  Valley  is  in  the  trade  wind 
belt. 

North  of  the  equator  the  trades 
blow  from  the  northeast. 

The  air  over  the  land  becomes 
heated  and  expands.  The  cooler 
air  from  the  water  blows  in. 


the  location  of  both  places  — 
Florida  and  the  Indus  Valley. 
Can  you  see  any  reason  for  think- 
ing that  temperature  is  not  the 
same  ?  How  are  the  summer  and 
winter  temperatures  of  Florida 
affected  by  the  waters  about  it? 
How  are  the  summer  and  winter 
temperatures  of  the  Indus  Valley 
affected  by  the  land  mass  about  it  ? 

Find  out  whether  your  conclu- 
sions are  right. 


Is  the  temperature  of  Florida 
favorable  or  unfavorable  to  crops  ? 

Is  a  temperature  somewhat 
hotter  in  summer  and  colder  in 
winter  unfavorable  to  crops? 

Is  there  anything,  then,  in  the 
temperature  of  the  Indus  Valley 
that  explains  their  famines? 

We  must  evidently  look  for 
some  other  cause  for  the  famines. 
Upon  what  other  cHmatic  con- 
ditions do  crops  depend  ? 

In  what  wind  belt  does  the 
Indus  Valley  lie  ? 

From  what  general  direction 
do  the  trades  blow  in  the  northern 
hemisphere  ? 

Let  us  see  if  there  is  ever  any 
exception  to  this  rule.  How  does 
the  temperature  of  the  land  com- 
pare with  the  temperature  of  the 
water  in  summer?  What  effect 
has  this  upon  the  air  over  the  land  ? 
What  naturally  follows  ? 


2CXD     A  Brief  Course  i7i  the  Teaching  Process 


From  a  general  southerly  direc- 
tion. 

Arrows  on  map  show  that  the 
winds  come  from  the  southwest. 


From  the  northeast  in  winter. 
From  the  southwest  in  summer. 

There  can  be  practically  no 
rainfall  in  the  Indus  Valley  in 
winter  because  the  winds  blow  over 
the  great  land  mass  of  eastern  and 
south-central  Asia  before  reaching 
the  Indus  and  have  lost  their 
moisture. 

There  is  more  rainfall  in  summer 
because  the  winds  from  the  south- 
west come  directly  from  the 
ocean.  The  valley  lies  so  low, 
however,  that  the  winds  sweep 
over  the  southern  part  of  it  without 
having  much  of  their  moisture 
condensed.  There  is  little  con- 
densation until  they  near  the  high- 
lands on  the  north. 

Refer  to  rainfall  maps  which 
show  well-watered  regions  in  the 
upper  valley  —  desert  in  the  lower. 

Generally  favorable  in  the  upper 
valley  —  unfavorable  in  the  lower. 


The  Nile  Valley  —  Egypt. 


The    annual    overjflow    of    the 
river. 


From  what  direction,  then,  do 
the  winds  blow  in  India? 

Turn  to  the  map  of  the  winds 
and  find  the  exact  direction.  These 
winds  are  called  the  Southwest 
Monsoons. 

Tell  again  from  what  direction 
the  winds  of  India  come. 

What,  then,  do  you  conclude  as 
to  the  rainfall  of  the  Indus  Valley 
in  winter  ?  Is  there  apt  to  be  more 
or  less  rainfall  in  summer  ?  Why  ? 
Look  at  the  map  very  carefully 
and  see  if  it  is  likely  that  even  the 
summer  winds  bring  much  rainfall. 
Is  the  rainfall  equally  light  all 
through  the  valley?  Where  is  it 
apt  to  be  heaviest?    Why? 


Prove  that  your  conclusions 
are  correct. 

Would  you  then  say  that  the 
rainfall  is  favorable  or  unfavorable 
for  agriculture  ? 

Does  this  mean,  necessarily, 
that  agriculture  cannot  be  carried 
on  in  the  lower  valley? 

W^at  other  river  valley  have 
you  studied  that  is  noted  for  its 
agriculture  in  spite  of  a  very  light 
rainfall  ? 

What  makes  agriculture  pos- 
sible in  the  Nile  Valley? 


Lesso7i  Plans 


20 1 


The  heavy  precipitation  in  the 
mountainous  districts  that  feed  its 
tributaries. 

Indus  has  many  tributaries  that 
rise  in  the  Himalayas.  In  the 
summer,  when  the  snows  on  the 
mountains  melt,  these  tributaries 
carry  to  the  main  stream  such  a 
quantity  of  water  that  an  inunda- 
tion results. 

Overflow  is  less  and  a  corre- 
spondingly smaller  area  productive. 

Character  of  the  soil. 


River  valleys  in  general  have  a 
rich  soil.  A  river  that  overflows 
leaves  a  deposit  of  rich  mud  that 
makes  its  banks  very  fertile. 

Favorable  —  warm  climate,  rich 
soil,  overflow  of  the  river. 

Unfavorable  —  scanty  rainfall. 

Crops  grow  so  rapidly  and  easily 
when  rains  do  not  fail,  that  vast 
numbers  of  the  people  engage  in 
farming.  It  is  almost  purely  an 
agricultural  region. 

It  has  attracted  vast  numbers  of 
people. 

Principal  products  —  millet, 
rice,  cotton,  sugar  cane,  wheat, 
tea. 

Practically  all  needed  for  home 
consumption. 


To  what  is  the  overflow  of  the 
Nile  due  ? 

Is  there  anything  in  the  loca- 
tion of  the  Indus  that  makes  it 
likely  that  it,  too,  overflows? 


What  is  the  result  if  the  rainfall 
is  less  abundant  than  usual? 

Upon  what  beside  temperature 
and  rainfall  does  the  productive- 
ness of  a  region  depend? 

Can  you  come  to  any  conclusion 
in  regard  to  the  soil  of  the  Indus 
VaUey  ? 

State  again  the  conditions  in  the 
valley  that  are  favorable  to  agri- 
culture. Those  that  are  unfavor- 
able. 

What  has  been  the  effect  of  these 
physical  conditions  upon  the  oc- 
cupations of  the  people? 


What  has  been  their  effect  upon 
the  density  of  population? 

What  crops  would  you  expect 
to  find  in  the  Indus  Valley  ?  Con- 
sult your  textbooks  and  see  what 
else  is  grown  there. 

Do  you  think  that  much  is  ex- 
ported ?  Why,  then,  do  they  have 
such  terrible  famines  in  India? 


More  railroads  might  be  built  Can  you  suggest  anything  that 


202     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 


might  be  done  to  lessen  the  danger 

of  famine  ? 

Consult  your  textbooks  and  see 
what  steps  have  already  been  taken 
in  this  direction. 


in  order  that  food  products  could 
be  carried  readily  from  one  section 
to  another. 

Better  methods  of  irrigation 
might  be  employed. 

More  variety  of  occupation 
might  be  introduced,  so  that  fewer 
people  would  be  directly  dependent 
upon  agriculture  for  a  living. 


A   LESSON   FOR   APPRECIATION 

A  lesson  for  appreciation  which  includes  creative  and  inter- 
pretative work.  The  interpretation  of  the  song  in  the  dance, 
or  dramatic  game. 

This  lesson  was  planned  and  taught  to  a  group  of  second- 
grade  children  by  Miss  Eleanor  Wright  of  the  Speyer  School, 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 

The  lesson  was  based  upon  the  little  German  folk  song  which 

follows :  — 

^a§  (Stecfenpferb 


1.  Hopp, 

2.  Tipp, 


hopp, 
tipp, 


hopp! 
tappl 


Pf  erd 
Wirf 


Chen,  lauf     Ga  -  lopp, 
mich    ja     nicht    abl 


ii    -     ber 
sonst        be  - 


Stock,    und 
kommst    du 


u 
Peit 


ber 
schen 


Stei    -    ne, 
hie    -  be ! 


■»i 


._^_ 


p 


fci: 


a    -    ber     brich      mir 
Pferd  -  chen,    thu'      mir's 


nicht 


die 

zu 


Bel   -    ne  1 
lie    -    be  ; 


g 


t:^ 


a 


im  -  mer     im     Ga  -  lopp  !    hopp,hopp,hopp, hopp, hopp! 
wirf  mich    ja_  nicht    ab  !      tipp  -  ti,   tapp  -  ti,    tapp  1 


Lesson  Plans 


203 


Teacher^ s  aims :  — 

1 .  To  have  the  children  make  a  dance  which  will  be  suitable 
to  the  music  of  Das  Steckenpferd.  - 

2.  To  help  the  children  to  appreciate  this  form  of  self-expres- 
sion, —  expression  by  means  of  the  whole  body. 

Pupils^  aim:  — 

To  make  a  Httle  ''folk  dance"  which  they  will  present  at  the 
May  Festival  for  the  entertainment  of  parents  and  friends. 


Subject  Matter 


Method  of  Procedure 


I.  A.  Getting  the  problem  be- 
fore the  children. 

1.  The  surprise. 

2.  Reason  for  doing  this 

work. 


3.  Nature  of  the  problem. 


I.  A.  I.  Do  you  remember,  chil- 
dren, that  I  promised 
you  a  great  surprise  this 
morning  ?  Well,  this  is 
it. 

2.  One  day,  not  long  ago. 
Miss  S.,  Miss  T.,  and  I 
were  talking  over  our 
program  for  the  May 
Festival,  and  we  decided 
that  the  little  people  did 
not  have  enough  to  do. 

The  first-grade  children 
are  to  play  a  little  story, 
and  our  two  grades,  you 
know,  are  to  sing  The 
Little  Princess  —  so  we 
thought  that  the  sec- 
ond grade  ought  to  have 
a  little  part  of  its  own. 
Now  what  do  you  think 
it  is  to  be  ?  I  am  going 
to  tell  you. 

3.  We  are  going  to  make 
our  own  Httle  dance  to 
the  music  of  Das  Pferd- 
chen.  Don't  you  think 
that  will  be  very  inter- 
esting ? 


204     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teachi^ig  Process 


B.  I.  Set  the  standard  for 
judging  the  value 
of  the  work  done : 
that  is,  to  have 
the  dance  tell  the 
same  story  as  the 
music. 


2.  Consider  some  other 
familiar  melodies, 
and  show,  in  phys- 
ical expression, 
what  they  tell. 

a.  Soldier  Song. 
(Bentley  Song  Primer.) 


h.  Bye- Low. 
(Bentley  Song  Primer.) 


c.  Old  Black  Joe. 

d.  Robin  Hood  and  Lit- 

tle John. 

C.  Choose  those  pupils  to  in- 
terpret a  song  to 
whom  it  seems  to 
appeal  most. 

1.  Soldier  Song  —  boys. 

2.  Bye-Low  —  girls. 

3.  Robin       Hood — part- 

ners. 


WTien  we  made  the 
tunes  for  our  songs  last 
winter,  what  did  the 
music  always  have  to 
teU? 

Just  so,  as  we  make 
our  dance  to-day,  it  must 
tell  the  same  story  as  the 
folk  song. 

Let  us  sing  one  of  our 
little  songs  that  we  have 
known  for  a  long  time, 
and  see  if  we  can  tell, 
in  a  dance,  how  that 
makes  us  feel. 

Different  children 
may  here  give  different, 
individual  interpreta- 
tions. Encourage  much 
freedom. 

I  am  thinking  of  an- 
other tune  that  is  quite 
different  from  this  one. 
You  may  sing  it  with 
me  if  you  like. 

Virginia  may  show  us 
how  that  song  makes 
her  feel :  what  she  wishes 
to  do  when  she  hears  it. 

(Handle  these  two 
songs  in  a  manner  simi- 
lar to  that  used  for  the 
other  two.) 

I  am  going  to  choose 
James  to  dance  this,  for 
he  knows  so  much  about 
soldiers. 

Whom  do  you  think 
could  best  show  us  how 
Bye-Low^'  goes ' '  ?  Yes, 
I  believe  the  girls  can. 


Lesson  Plans 


205 


II.  A.  Das  Pferdchen. 


I.  Kind  of  song  —  gay. 


2.  Things    a    little    horse 
would  do. 


a.  Gallop. 

b.  Jump. 

c.  Trot. 

d.  Paw  the  earth. 

e.  Stamp. 

/.   Step  very  high. 

g.  Carry      his      head 

proudly. 
h.  Prance. 

3.  Find  any  or  all  of  these 
movements  in  the 
song. 


4..  Analysis  of  stanzas. 
First  stanza  —  3  parts. 

a.  Jumping. 

b.  Galloping. 

c.  Jumping  lightly. 


Henry  may  choose  a 
little  boy  and  girl  to 
show  us  how  this  tune 
(Robin  Hood)  seems  to 
go- 
II.  A.  Our  httle  song,  Das  Pferd- 
chen, is  very  different 
from  all  these. 

Let  us  sing    it    to- 
gether,  to  "la.'' 

1.  What  kind  of  song 
do  you  think  it  is? 
How  does  it  make  you 
feel? 

2.  This  song  is  about 
a  Httle  horse.  Now 
what  can  a  Uttle  horse 
do? 


3.  Now  we  shall  sing  our 
song  again,  and  this 
time  you  must  listen 
very  carefully  so  that 
you  can  tell  what  this 
little  horse  does. 

4.  Is  this  stanza  alike 
throughout,  or  are  there 
different  parts  to  it? 
You  may  raise  your 
hands  when  we  come  to 
the  end  of  each  part. 
Name   each   part. 


2o6     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 


5.  Interpretation  of  each 
part  by  several 
different  children. 


6.  Criticism. 

a.  Suggestions  and  con- 
structive criticism 
of  work  done. 

h.  Judgment  of  the 
class  as  to  the  rela- 
tive values  of 
work. 

c.  Selection  made  for 
permanent  dance. 

7.  a.  Analysis    of    second 

stanza  —  3  move- 
ments. 


h.  Contrast  the  general 
spirit  of  first  and 
second  stanzas. 

8.  Encourage  timid  pupils 
to  put  forth  effort. 
Have  a  very  weak 
one  work  with  one 
who  is  strong  in 
this  line. 


III.  A.  I.  Review  the  whole  dance,      m*  ^ 


.  You  may  show  us  how 
that  first  part  makes  you 
feel,  Leland. 

Irving  may  show 
his  way  of  doing  it. 


us 


You  have  seen  these 
two  boys  work ;  have  you 
any  suggestion  to  give? 

Which  piece  of  work 
do  you  consider  more  ap- 
propriate ?     Why  ? 

Are  you  willing  to  ac- 
cept this  for  your  finished 
dance  ? 

Now  we  have  gotten 
the  movements  for  our 
first  stanza,  we  shall  see  if 
the  second  stanza  is  very 
like  it- 
How     many     move- 
ments did  you  hear  in  it  ? 
h.  Is  the  general  spirit  of  the 
second  stanza  just  like 
that  of  the  first? 
Compare  ? 

Will  you  not  show  us, 
Josephine,  how  that  Httle 
horse  seems  to  go,  in 
this  second  stanza. 

Now  William  is  a  very 
strong  horse,  so  we  shall 
put  you  with  him  and 
make  a  fine  "team." 
I.  Since  we  have  gotten  all 
our  dance,  in  parts, 
maybe  you  would  like 
to  see  some  one  dance 
it  all  the  way  through. 


Lesson  Plans 


207 


2.  Give  the  incentive  to 
work  upon  this 
until  it  is  a  very 
finished  product. 


Provide  for  a  way  of 
getting  on  and  off 
the  floor,  when  the 
dance  is  given. 


Who  will  be  strong 
enough  to  do  this  with- 
out any  help  ? 

We  liked  that  very 
much. 

2.  But  I  wonder  if  you 
feel  ready  to  give  this  at 
the  May  Festival,  just 
as  it  is  ? 

Why  not  ? 

What  will  be  neces- 
sary, then,  before  we  can 
feel  satisfied  with  it  ? 

3.  Now  we  know  how  our 
dance  is  to  go  after  we 
have  gotten  out  on  the 
floor,  but  we  have  not 
said  how  we  shall  get  to 
and  from  our  places. 

Don't  you  think  this 
is  very  important  ? 

4.  I  am  going  to  ask  you 
to  be  ready  to  answer 
this  question  on  Mon- 
day: 

What  will  be  the  most 
suitable  and  pleasing 
way  in  which  to  get  be- 
fore our  audience;  and 
also,  back  to  our  places 
after  our  dance  has  been 
given. 

A  LESSON   IN   ARITHMETIC   BASED    ON  A  REAL  PROBLEM  WHICH 
WAS    INTERESTING    TO    CHILDREN 

Such  a  lesson  gives  little  opportunity  for  practice  in  arith- 
metical computation,  but  gives  the  very  best  possible  motive 
for  the  drill  work  which  is  to  follow.  This  lesson  was  planned 
and  taught  in  the  third  grade  of  the  Speyer  School,  Teachers 
College,  Columbia  University,  by  Miss  Roxana  A.  Steele. 


4.  Assignment. 


2o8     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

Teacher'' s  aims:  To  have  children  appreciate  the  practical 
value  of  itemized  bills. 

To  make  children  conscious  of  their  need  for  the  multipli- 
cation table  of  six. 

PupiVs  aim:  To  find  the  cost  of  the  basket  of  food  to  be 
given  to  a  poor  family  on  Thanksgiving  Day. 


Subject  Matter 

Thanksgiving  baskets  are  sent 
annually  to  the  needy  families  of 
the  neighborhood. 

Voluntary  offerings  of  money, 
groceries,  help  in  preparing  and 
distributing. 

An  offer  to  pay  for  a  Thanks- 
giving basket  if  the  value  were 
estimated. 


List  of  things  for  the  Thanks- 

giving basket: 

I  squash. 

2  cans  of  vegetables. 

3  qt.  of  potatoes. 

2  qt,  of  apples. 

6  lb.  of  beef. 

I  qt.  of  cranberries. 

I  lb.  of  sugar. 

I  lb.  of  nuts. 

Market  list  prices : 

Small  squash    .     .     . 

.      12^ 

Large  squash    .     .     . 

.     i8jf 

Canned  vegetables     . 

.       I0i«5 

Method  of  Procedure 

How  many  children  know  about 
the  Thanksgiving  baskets  which 
are  sent  from  the  Speyer  School? 

You  may  tell  the  rest  of  the  class 
how  this  work  is  planned  for. 

Miss  S.  was  telling  me  yester- 
day that  a  gentleman  offered  to  pay 
for  one  of  the  baskets,  but  she  did 
not  know  the  value  of  one.  She  said 
that  she  knew  the  different  articles 
which  are  put  into  the  basket,  but 
did  not  know  the  value  of  each. 
I  thought  Grade  III  could  find  the 
cost  for  her.  Would  3^ou  like  to 
try  to  do  it?     (Pupils'  Aim.) 

Miss  S.  gave  me  a  Hst  of  the 
things  which  are  to  go  into  the 
basket. 

As  I  put  the  list  on  the  board 
try  to  think  of  the  price  of  each 
article. 

We  will  choose  the  average  price 
because  our  goods  will  be  average 
goods. 


Lesson  Plans 


209 


Potatoes  per  qt. 
Apples  per  qt.  . 
Cranberries  per  qt 
Sugar  per  lb.     . 
Nuts  mixed  per  lb 

Small  squash    . 
Large  squash    . 

Medium  squash 


^9 

\2f 


2)30^^ 


15)^ 


6  lb.  of  beef  at  16;?  =  $.96 


$.16 

.16 

.16 

$.16  a  lb. 

.16 

X6 

.16 

$.96  for  6  lb. 

.16 

$.96 

Suggestions. 

Numbers  in  straight  columns. 

Add  up  and  down. 

Give  proper  name  to  answer. 

Board  addition. 

Papers  for  Miss  S.  and  the 
gentleman. 

Neat. 

Correct. 

Good  writing. 

Cost  of  Thanksgiving  basket, 
$2.15. 

Need  of  6  table. 


How  many  are  ready  to  tell  the 
price  of  the  squash?  How  can 
you  find  the  medium  price  ?  You 
may  record  the  squash.  Who  can 
fill  in  the  second  line  and  explain 
it?     Class  be  ready  to  criticize. 

Same  method  with  the  other 
items  except  item  about  meat. 

How  can  we  find  the  cost  of  6 
lb.  of  beef  at  16)^  a  pound  ? 

Teacher  do  the  multiplying, 
showing  the  practical  value  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  6  table.  Which 
is  the  better  way  and  why? 

Is  there  any  question  before 
finding  the  value  of  the  basket  as 
a  whole  ? 

Who  can  give  helpful  suggestions 
to  make  sure  that  the  answer  is  cor- 
rect? 


Checking  of  results  at  board  by 
pupil  whose  work  is  incorrect. 

These  three  children  may  choose 
the  two  best  papers  and  tell  why 
they  select  them. 


What  have  we  found  out  in  to- 
day's lesson  ? 

What  do  you  think  we  ought 
to  do  in  the  arithmetic  lesson  to- 
morrow ? 

(Problem  to  carry  over.) 


2IO     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

Aim  for  next  lesson  to  be  ex- 
pressed by  pupils. 

We  cannot  always  follow  in  every  detail  the  plan  which 
we  make  for  a  lesson.  It  is  interesting  in  this  connection  to 
read  Miss  Steele's  accurate  account  of  what  actually  hap- 
pened when  the  lesson,  as  planned  above,  was  taught.  The 
description  which  follows  appeared  in  the  Atlantic  Educa- 
tional Journal  for  November,   1910. 

A   PRACTICAL   LESSON   IN   ARITHMETIC 

By  Roxana  a.  Steele,  Speyer  School,  Teachers  College, 
Columbia  University 

PupiVs  aim:  To  find  the  cost  of  a  Thanksgiving  dinner. 
Teacher* s  aim:  To  make  children  conscious  of  their  needs  in  arith- 
metic. 

Last  fall  Grade  Three  had  been  studying  the  wholesale  market  in 
industrial  work.  The  wholesale  market  was  compared  with  the  retail 
market,  prices  contrasted,  etc.,  and  much  language  and  arithmetic  work 
was  based  upon  this  work. 

A  few  days  before  Thanksgiving  a  gentleman  stepped  into  the  school 
office  and  offered  to  pay  for  one  of  the  Thanksgiving  baskets  which  the 
school  sends  out  to  poor  families  in  the  neighborhood.  No  one  seemed 
to  know  the  exact  value  of  one  of  the  baskets,  so  Grade  Three  was  asked 
to  make  the  estimate. 

This  could  have  been  done  by  an  adult  in  a  few  minutes,  but  it  woidd 
have  been  done  no  more  accurately  than  the  children  were  able  to  do  it 
after  having  made  a  careful  study  of  market  lists.  The  exercise  also 
furnished  an  excellent  child's  aim  for  the  arithmetic  lesson.  The  class 
felt  its  responsibility  and  was  anxious  to  do  good  work. 

The  list  of  things  generally  put  into  one  of  the  baskets  was  given  to 
the  class.  The  children  decided  upon  the  average  price  of  each  item. 
This  called  for  an  appreciation  of  the  word  average.  The  work  was 
done  orally  with  class  discussion.  For  instance,  when  the  price  of  a 
squash  was  asked,  one  child  said  "twelve  cents,"  another,  "eighteen 
cents,"  etc.  The  class  finally  agreed  that  a  medium-sized  squash  would 
cost  about  fifteen  cents. 


Lesson  Plans  211 

Small  squash 12^ 

Large  squash 18^ 

2)30^ 

The  child  who  recorded  the  price  of  the  squash  on  the  board  wrote 
fifteen  cents  —  $.15.  Before  the  lesson  was  over,  several  children  had 
a  little  trouble  in  writing  cents  without  dimes  ($.06),  keeping  the  money- 
columns  straight,  using  the  dollar  mark  and  decimal  point,  etc.  With 
suggestions  from  other  members  of  the  class,  the  Hst  was  complete. 

In  the  item  "6  lb.  of  beef  @  16^"  the  class  found  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  multiply  by  six.  As  they  had  never  had  the  six  table,  I  did  not 
expect  them  to  be  able  to  do  it,  but  it  chanced  that  one  boy  knew  his 
six  table  and  did  the  work  readily. 

1909. 


Marion  Thalman. 

Nov.  23, 

The  Cost  of  a  Thanksgiving  Dinner 

I  squash 

$.15 

2  cans  of  vegetables  @  10^ 

.20 

3  qt.  of  potatoes  @  Zf 

.24 

6  lb.  of  beef  @  i6J^ 

.96 

2  qt.  of  apples  @  12^ 

.24 

I  qt.  cranberries 

.12 

I  lb.  sugar 

.06 

I  lb.  nuts 

.18 

$2.15 

When  the  price  of  each  item  had  been  decided  upon,  the  children 
found  the  total  cost  at  their  seats,  and  their  results  were  compared. 

The  lesson  closed  with  the  question,  "  What  did  you  find  out  in  to-day's 
lesson?"  The  answers  were:  "The  cost  of  a  Thanksgiving  basket"; 
"That  Russell  is  the  only  child  who  knows  his  six  table";  "That  we 
need  to  write  dollars  and  cents  so  that  we  won't  make  mistakes." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  arithmetic  lesson  the  following  day,  when 
the  class  was  asked,  "What  do  we  need  to  do  to-day?"  there  was  a  divi- 
sion of  opinion  as  to  whether  the  drill  on  dollars  and  cents  or  learning 
of  the  six  table  should  come  first.  The  decision  was  in  favor  of  the  drill 
on  writing  money,  and  the  six  table  was  presented  later  in  the  same 
period. 

The  result  of  the  lesson  on  the  cost  of  the  dinner  was  sent  to  the  prin- 
cipal. The  class  received  a  note  of  thanks  for  the  help  which  it  had 
rendered.  The  children  were  proud  of  their  accompUshment  and  anxious 
to  work  out  more  real  problems. 


212     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

A  LESSON  FOR  APPRECIATION 

Teacher^ s  aim  :  To  help  children  to  enjoy  Stevenson's 
Bed  in  Summer. 

Did  any  child  in  the  room  ever  have  to  go  to  bed  before  it 
was  dark  ?  Did  you  ever  get  up  in  the  morning  before  day- 
light? Stevenson  remembered  how  he  used  to  feel  when  he 
had  to  go  to  bed  before  dark,  and  wrote  a  story  about  it.  Would 
you  like  to  hear  the  story  ? 

Children's  aim:  To  enjoy  Stevenson's  story  about  going 
to  bed  before  dark. 


Subject  Matter 


Method  or  Procedure 


BED  IN   summer 

"In  winter  I  get  up  at  night 
And  dress  by  yellow  candle  light ; 
In  summer  quite  the  other  way, 
I  have  to  go  to  bed  by  day. 

"I  have  to  go  to  bed  and  see 
The  birds  still  hopping  on  the 

tree, 
And  hear  the  grown-up  people's 

feet 
Still  going  past  me  in  the  street. 

"And  does  it  not  seem  hard  to 
you, 
When  all  the  sky  is  clear  and  blue, 
And  I  should  like  so  much  to 

play, 
To  have  to  go  to  bed  by  day  ?  " 


I  want  you  to  tell  me  all  you 
can  about  the  place  where  Steven- 
son lived,  when  I  am  through  read- 
ing the  story. 

Read  the  poem. 

Who  will  describe  the  place 
where  he  lived  ? 

Were  there  other  children  who 
lived  near  by? 

Were  there  any  trees  near  the 
house  ? 

I'll  read  the  poem  again  and  you 
will  see  how  many  reasons  Steven- 
son had  for  not  wanting  to  go  to 
bed  by  day. 

Read  the  poem  again  twice. 

^Vhy  does  he  tell  you  that  he  has 
to  get  up  at  night  in  the  winter  ? 

When  do  the  birds  go  to  bed  ? 

Do  the  grown-up  people  go  to 
bed  when  children  do? 

How  was  he  able  to  see  the  birds 
in  the  trees?  Do  you  think  he 
ever  got  out  of  bed? 


Lesson  Plans  213 

Do  you  think  all  the  children  in 
the  street  had  to  go  to  bed  as  early 
as  Stevenson?  Let  me  read  the 
last  stanza  and  see  whether  you 
can  tell. 

Recall  the  Mother  Goose  Rhyme : 
"  Girls  and  boys  come  out  to  play, 

The  moon  doth  shine  as  bright 
as  day ; 

Leave  your  supper  and  leave 
your  sleep, 

And  come  with  your  playfellows 
into  the  street." 

How  did  Stevenson  know  the 
other  children  were  in  the  street? 

Read  the  last  stanza. 

I'll  read  the  whole  story  again, 
and  then  ask  some  one  to  tell  me 
Stevenson's  story  about  going  to 
bed  in  summer. 

Read  the  poem,  calling  attention 
to  the  different  scenes :  (i)  The 
boy  that  gets  up  by  night  and 
dresses  by  yellow  candlelight. 
(2)  In  summer  quite  the  other  way, 
he  has  to  go  to  bed  by  day  —  he 
has  to  go  to  bed  and  see  the  birds 
still  hopping  on  the  tree  and  hear 
the  grown-up  people's  feet  still 
going  past  him  in  the  street.  (3) 
The  Uttle  boy  lying  in  bed  who 
feels  very  much  abused. 

And  does  it  not  seem  hard  to  you, 
etc.  ?  Let  us  see  all  of  the  pictures 
again.  Read  in  same  way  again. 
Who  will  tell  the  story? 

I  am  going  to  write  it  on  the 
board,  so  that  we  can  tell  the  story 
as  Stevenson  did. 


214     ^  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

After  the  treatment  indicated  above,  memorization  will  be 
very  easily  accomplished.  The  preliminary  study  for  appre- 
ciation will  make  the  poem  mean  more  to  the  children  than  it 
could  have  meant  had  the  teacher  simply  read  it  to  the  chil- 
dren two  or  three  times  and  then  asked  them  to  memorize  it. 

In  a  study  lesson,  the  plans  will  vary  from  a  single  exercise 
in  finding  the  principal  thought  in  a  paragraph  to  a  develop- 
ment lesson,  not  dissimilar  as  to  plan  to  other  lessons  of  the 
same  type.  The  recitation  lesson  may  be  a  development 
lesson,  inductive  or  deductive,  or  a  drill  lesson.  The  plans 
would  therefore  be  similar  to  those  given  above. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  suggested  that  any  teacher  who  feels 
that  it  is  impossible  to  plan  all  of  her  work  will  gain  greatly  if 
she  will  plan  carefully  for  a  single  subject.  As  facility  is  gained 
in  plan  making,  it  will  be  possible  to  write  plans  for  two  or 
three  or  for  more  subjects.  A  topic  plan  should  result  in  defi- 
niteness  in  the  work  of  both  teacher  and  pupils.  Good  plans 
give  the  teacher  more  freedom  in  conducting  her  work,  and 
enable  her  to  tell  definitely  the  progress  which  the  class  has 
made.  Plans  are  necessary  in  teaching.  No  one  has  a  right 
to  pretend  to  teach  without  previous  thought  concerning  the 
subject  to  be  taught,  and  the  method  to  be  employed  in  giving 
children  command  of  this  material. 

For  Collateral  Reading 

W.  W.  Charters,  Methods  of  Teaching,  Chapter  XIX. 

C.  A.  and  F.  M.  McMurry,  The  Method  of  the  Recitation,  Chapter  XIV. 

Eooercises. 

The  plans  which  follow  were  offered  to  teachers  as  suggestions  rather 
than  as  outlines  of  subject  matter  or  of  procedure  to  be  followed  abso- 
lutely. Reorganize  these  plans  so  as  to  show  subject  matter  and  method 
separately.  Add  to  the  subject  matter  or  method  wherever  necessary. 
If  you  think  best,  change  the  organization  of  material,  the  statement  of 
aim,  the  references  to  books,  and  the  like.  Do  not  change  the  topic. 
As  a  result  of  your  work  you  should  be  ready  to  present  a  plan  for  which 
you  are  willing  to  stand. 


Lesson  Plans  215  ; 

LITERATURE  —  THIRD   GRADE 

Atalanta's  Race 

Note.  —  The  story  of  Atalanta's  Race  furnishes  material  for  several  I 

lessons.    The  following  outline  embraces  the  whole  set  of  lessons.  j 

Aim: —  j 

To  teach  the  story  of  Atalanta's  Race.  i 

I.  Division  into  parts.  I 

1.  Atalanta.  ^ 

2.  Hippomenes.  j 

3.  The  Race.  1 
II.  Outlining  of  each  part.  \ 

1.  Atalanta.  j 
a.  Her  home.  ! 
h.   Swiftness  of  foot.                                                                                       ,; 

c.  Beauty  and  grace.  Desire  of  youths  to  win  her.                                   : 

d.  Her  determination.  j 

2.  Hippomenes.  '  j 
a.   Who  he  was. 

h.   His  decision.  | 

c.    His  resort  to  strategy.  j 

3.  The  Race.  ] 
a.  Atalanta's  self-confidence.  j 
h.   The  first  apple ;  the  result.  j 

c.  The  second  apple ;  the  result. 

d.  The  third  apple ;  the  result. 

Preparation :  —  j 

Tell  me  of  a  game  in  which  one  child  outruns  another.  ] 

Tell  me  of  a  story  in  which  two  animals  played  a  game  like  this  race  i 

of  Atalanta.     (Hare  and  Tortoise.)  ' 
Let  us  play  a  game  in  which  two  boys  run  a  race. 

Let  us  play  the  Hare  and  the  Tortoise.  [ 

Which  is  the  faster  runner,  the  hare  or  the  tortoise  ?  \ 
How,  then,  did  the  tortoise  win  the  race  ? 
Presentation :  — 

Let  the  teacher  tell  the  story  of  the  Hare  and  the  Tortoise.  1 
Find  in  the  Atalanta  story  the  person  who  takes  the  place  of  the  hare, 

and  the  one  who  takes  the  place  of  the  tortoise.  ' 

By  showing  the  picture  in  the  book,  have  the  children  solve  the  problem.  j] 

Did  Atalanta  expect  to  win  the  race  ?     Why  not  ?  ! 


2i6     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

How  did  this  make  her  act  ? 

Did  the  hare  expect  to  lose  the  race  ?    Why  not  ? 

The  teacher  may  tell  the  story  of  the  girl  going  to  market  with  a 
basket  of  eggs  on  her  head.  She  was  so  sure  of  getting 
sale  for  her  eggs  that  she  set  to  dreaming  of  the  pretty 
things  she  would  buy  with  the  money  she  was  to  get  for 
the  eggs.  She  would  buy,  she  thought,  a  bright  new 
dress  and  a  new  hat;  and  then  how  mean  and  shabby 
she  could  make  the  other  girls  look ;  and  how  she  could 
walk  past  them  all,  tossing  her  head  in  pride !  Forget- 
ting that  she  was  still  only  on  her  way  to  market,  she 
then  gave  her  head  a  proud  Uttle  toss ;  and  —  what  do 
you  think  happened  ? 

Let  the  children  give  the  story  of  the  Hare  and  the  Tortoise  in  their 
own  words. 

What  is  likely  to  happen  to  any  one  of  us  who  is  too  sure  of  winning  ? 

What  will  we  say,  then,  of  any  one  who  is  too  sure  of  anything  ? 

It  has  been  said,  "  Count  not  your  chickens  before  they  are  hatched." 
What  does  this  mean  ? 

ARITHMETIC  —  FIFTH  GRADE 
Aim:  — 
To  teach  division  of  decimals. 

The  following  is  assumed  as  class  knowledge  upon  which  the  process 
should  be  based. 

1.  AbiHty  to  read  and  write  decimals. 

2.  Vivid  knowledge  of  the  relations  of  one  hundred  to  ten,  ten  to 

one  unit,  one  unit  to  one  tenth,  one  tenth  to  one 
hundredth,  etc. 

3.  Knowledge  of  the  process  of  division  of  whole  numbers. 

4.  The  principle:    multiplying  or   dividing   both   dividend   and 

divisor  by  the  same  number  does  not  change  the  quotient. 
Preparation: —  $5141 

I.   Division  by  an  integer.  i5)$77ii5 

a.    Find  the  value  of  i  acre  of  land  y^ 

if  15  acres  cost  $77115.  "~^ 

61 
60 

IS 
15 


Lesson  Plans  217 

h.  Find  the  value  of  i  acre  of  land  if  15  acres  cost  $  771.15. 

$5141 

i5)$77iiS 
75 
21 
15 
6.1 
6.0 

•15 
•IS 

Compare  the  steps  in  (i)  with  the  corresponding  steps  in  (a).    The 
pupil  will  experience  no  diflSculty  in  telling  the  unit  that  each  quotient 
figure  represents,  for  he  knows  that  dividing  any  number  into  parts 
does  not  change  its  unit. 
Presentation :  — 

a.   12  is  contained  in  36  how  many  times? 

12)36 

3 

h.   Multiply  both  dividend  and  divisor  in  (a)  by  2. 
24  is  contained  in  72  how  many  times? 

24)72 

3 

c.  Multiply  both  dividend  and  divisor  in  {a)  by  10. 
120  is  contained  in  360  how  many  times? 

120)360 
3 

Compare   the   quotients.     Recall   the   principle:    Multiplying   both 
dividend  and  divisor  by  the  same  number  does  not  change  the  quotient. 

d.  .2  is  contained  in  2.4  how  many  times? 

Multiplying  both  numbers  by  10,  to  what  is  the  divisor 

changed  ?    To  a  whole  number. 
2  is  contained  in  24  how  many  times  ? 

2)24 
12 


2i8     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

e,    .22  is  contained  in  2.42  how  many  times? 

Change  .22  to  a  whole  number,  by  multiplying  both  the 

numbers  by  100. 
22  is  contained  in  242  how  many  times? 

II 

22)242 

22 

22 

22 

/.    .005  is  contained  in  .125  how  many  times? 

By  what  shall  both  numbers,  be  multiphed  so  that  .005  may 

become  the  whole  number  5  ? 
5  is  contained  in  125  how  many  times? 

5)125 

25 

g.   2.88  is  contained  in  3.456  how  many  times? 

By  what  shall  both  numbers  be  multiphed  so  that  2.88 

may  become  the  whole  number  288  ? 
288  is  contained  in  345.6  how  many  times? 

1.2 

288)345.6 
288 


57-6 
57-6 


Many  such  examples  will  enable  the  pupils  to  formulate  the  generali- 
zation: "To  divide  a  decimal  by  a  decimal,  multiply  the  dividend  and 
divisor  by  the  power  of  ten  that  will  change  the  divisor  to  an  integer, 
then  divide  as  in  simple  division," 

NATURE  STUDY  — FIFTH  GRADE 

Detailed  Plan  for  a  Series  of  Lessons 

Topic :  — 

The  horse. 
Materials :  — 

The  horse  seen  on  the  street;    drinking  fountains;    horsemanship 
observed ;  harness ;   shoes ;  protection ;   different  kinds 


Lesson  Plans  ii<^ 

of  vehicles;  printed  matter  issued  by  the  Society  for 
the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals  and  by  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture. 
Aim:  — 

To  train  the  children  to  meet  sympathetically  and  intelligently  their 
responsibilities  to  the  horse. 
Preparation :  — 

Years  of  interest  in  horses ;  directed  observation  of  other  periods. 
Presentation :  — 

1.  Stories  of  horses  known  to  the  children  —  those  owned  by 

their  parents,  fire  horses,  horses  of  the  mounted  poKce, 
showing  their  faithfulness,  inteUigence,  strength,  train- 
ing, treatment. 

In  the  city  of  Baltimore  the  old  fire  horse  is  practically  pen- 
sioned when  unfit  for  further  service.  This  is  one  way 
in  which  right-minded  people  acknowledge  their  obliga- 
tions to  horses,  by  providing  for  their  comfort  in  their 
old  age. 

Have  stories  like  the  Pacing  Mustang  read  to  the  class; 
allow  the  children  to  take  the  storybooks  home,  and 
encourage  them  to  bring  to  the  class  other  stories  about 
horses.  Encourage  the  children  to  read  brief  histories 
of  the  great  breeds  of  horses  —  the  Norman  horses, 
Clydesdales,  etc.  —  horses  that  hold  the  world's  records 
for  speed. 

2.  Observations  to  identify  horses  that  show  normal  blood,  and 

discover  their  fitness  of  blood  and  temperament  for  the 

work  they  are  doing. 
Are  they  strong  enough  for  the  work  they  are  required  to  do  ? 
Are  they  disturbed  by  passing  street  cars  ?     If  so,  how  do  they 

show  it  ? 
What  is  the  efifect  upon  them  of  the  confusion  of  other  city 

noises  ? 
Notice  that  while  some  horses  are  evidently  distressed  by  the 

confusion  of  city  hfe,  others  love  it  and  become  home- 
sick when  sold  for  use  in  the  country. 
Blanketing :  — 

Call  attention  to  the  manner  in  which  large  firms  so  carefully 

blanket  their  horses. 
Why  should  a  horse  be  blanketed  when  he  is  standing  ? 
Shoeing :  — 

Notice  the  cause  of  slipping,  stumbHng,  and  falling  on  icy  or 


220     A  Brief  Course  i7i  the   Teaching  Process 

wet  pavements,  and  therefore  the  necessity  for  rough 
shoes,  rubber  shoes,  etc. 

If  possible,  bring  into  the  class  a  specimen  of  a  patent  horse- 
shoe ;   the  shoe  and  shield  of  a  cart  horse. 
Harness :  — 

Is  the  horse  easy  in  harness  ? 

What  sort  of  a  checkrein  would  you  use  ?    Why  ? 

Why  is  the  back  pad  used  with  the  two-wheel  cart  ? 

What  are  the  effects  of  an  ill-fitting  harness  ? 

What  do  you  think  of  the  law  which  in  some  places  punishes  a 
man  whose  horses  show  galls  ? 
Horsemanship :  — 

Have  the  children  report  critical  situations  which  have  hap- 
pened within  their  observation  and  how  they  were  met 
by  drivers ;   their  observation  of  the  affection  shown  by 
a  horse  toward  his  master. 
General  Condition  of  Horses :  — 

Discuss  the  effect  of  grooming  upon  the  horse's  coat. 

Why  should  the  horse  be  fed  regularly  ? 

Why  should  ground  food  be  given  to  an  old  horse  whose  teeth 
are  poor  ? 

Discuss  the  necessity  of  allowing  the  horse  freedom  in  travehng. 

Temporary  lameness  is  frequently  due  to  a  stone  in  the  foot; 
how  may  it  be  removed  ? 

What  should  be  done  for  a  horse  that  is  seriously  lame  ? 

3.  The  economic  value  of  such  knowledge  as  the  foregoing:  — 
Horses  are  stiffened  by  standing  unblanketed  in  the  wind  or 

cold. 

Foundering  is  caused  by  watering  a  horse  when  he  is  over- 
heated. 

A  properly  fitted  harness  and  a  comfortable  checkrein,  if  any 
is  used,  save  the  strength  of  the  horse. 

The  selection  of  a  horse  whose  strength  and  temperament  fit 
him  for  his  work  adds  to  his  value  and  usefulness. 

Skillful  drivers,  especially  those  who  like  their  teams,  can  secure 
a  great  amount  of  work  from  them  and  yet  save  much 
of  their  energy.  It  frequently  happens  that  after  a  day's 
work  one  man  will  bring  in  a  team  comparatively  fresh, 
while  under  a  different  driver  the  same  team  will  be 
worried  into  exhaustion. 

4.  Knowledge  of  the  work  of  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of 

Cruelty  to  Animals :  — 


Lesson  Plans  221 

The  work  of  this  society  demands  judgment  based  on  a  fuller 
knowledge  of  conditions  and  causes  than  most  children 
of  their  ages  possess.  Its  work,  therefore,  is  not  in- 
tended for  children,  but  they  should  know  what  help 
they  may  give  the  society,  and  be  taught  to  use  it. 
5.  Knowledge  of  the  city  law  for  protecting  horses. 
Seat  Work :  — 

Sketches  of  horses'  hoofs  showing  how  a  stone  may  cause  lameness. 

Sketches  of  different  kinds  of  shoes. 

Sketches  of  different  kinds  of  checkreins:  the  overdraw  check  and 
its  effect ;  side  check  and  its  effect. 

Different  head  and  ear  postures  of  horses  indicative  of  their  conditions 
and  feehngs. 

Getting  records  of  observations  into  shape  to  present  to  class. 

Have  each  member  of  the  class  imagine  himself  to  be  his  favorite  horse, 
—  a  fire  horse;  mounted  poHceman's  horse;  a  United 
Railway  repair  wagon  horse ;  a  hospital  ambulance  horse ; 
an  express-wagon  horse ;  a  carriage  horse  ;  a  broken-down 
carriage  horse,  etc.,  —  and  write  a  story  of  his  part  in  a 
fire,  a  serious  accident,  or  some  other  situation. 

Give  related  language  work. 


GEOGRAPHY  —  FIFTH  GRADE 
Detailed  Plan  for  a  Series  of  Lessons 

Topic :  — 

Pittsburg  as  a  trade  center. 
Materials :  — 

Pictures,  maps,  sand  table,  specimens  of  iron  ore,  coal,  coke,  lime- 
stone, reference  books,  railroad  folders. 
Aim:  — 

To  show  how  natural  advantages  have  determined  the  location  and 
growth  of  Pittsburg ;   to  show  the  direction  and  extent 
of  manufacturing  and  commerce  in  Pittsburg. 
Preparation :  — 

1.  Study  of  coal  mine,  iron  mine,  blast  furnace. 

2.  Relation  of  iron  mines  to  coal  mines. 

3.  Location  of  Pittsburg  — 
(a)  in  coal  region. 

(6)  at  junction  of  rivers  which  form  the  Ohio  River. 


222     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

Presentation :  — 

(Following  closely  McMurry's  Special  Method  in  Geography^ 

1.  Advantages  of  Pittsburg  for  iron  and  steel  manufacturing. 

Illustrate  with  sand  map. 
(a)    Coal  region  —  rivers  bring  coal  to  Pittsburg. 
(^)   Iron  region  near. 

Much  iron  ore  brought  from  Lake  Superior  region  via 

Great  Lakes,  by  railroad  from  Lake  Erie. 
In  manufacture  of  steel  more  coal  is  used  than  iron  ore; 

it  pays  to  bring  iron  ore  to  coal, 
(c)    Manufactured  products  —  steel  rails,  armor  plate,  pig  iron. 
id)   Rank  of  Pittsburg  in  regard  to  manufacture  of  iron  and 

steel.     Pittsburg  makes  lo  per  cent  of  all  iron  and  steel 

goods  made  in  the  United  States. 

2.  Neighboring  manufacturing  towns. 

(a)   Names  —  Allegheny,  Carnegie,  Homestead,  Braddock,  etc. 
(6)   How  do  their  manufactures  compare  with  those  of  Pitts- 
burg in  kind  ?   in  quantity  ?   in  value  ? 

3.  Coke  ovens. 

Uses  of  coke. 

Kind  of  coal  used ;  where  obtained. 

Amount  of  it  put  into  each  oven. 

Length  of  burning. 

By-products. 

Drawing  out  and  cooling. 

Extent  of  ovens. 

Efifect  on  landscape. 

4.  Blast  furnaces. 

5.  Other  manufactures. 
{fi)   Oil  refining. 

Where  oil  comes  from. 
How  it  is  pumped,  carried,  stored. 
Value  of  pipe  lines. 
How  is  oil  brought  to  Baltimore  ? 
Efifect  of  oil  tanks  on  landscape. 
Processes  of  refining. 
Dangers. 
Uses. 

By-products. 
(6)    Glass  making. 

Kinds  of  glass  made. 


Lesson  Plans  223 

Materials  used. 
Where  found. 

6.  Transportation  by  water.     Illustrate  with  sand  map. 

{a)  Need  for  means  of  transportation:    of  raw  material  to 

Pittsburg ;  of  manufactured  products  from  Pittsburg. 
(6)   Rivers. 

The  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  bring  raw  materials  to 

Pittsburg. 
The  Ohio  carries  raw  materials  and  manufactured  products 

away  from  Pittsburg. 
No  tracks  or  roadbed  to  be  laid  for  river,  —  river  always 

ready ;  Ohio  deep  enough  for  large  barges ;  swiftness  of 

current  due  to  nature  of  slopes. 
Coal  and  iron  carried  by  river  as  far  as  New  Orleans. 

7.  Railroad  center. 

{a)  Sections  of  country  not  reached  by  waterways.  How 
products  are  transported  to  those  parts  ? 

(6)  Need  of  railroads  for  people  who  travel  to  and  from  Pitts- 
burg. 

(c)  Chief  directions  in  which  railroads  lead  from  Pittsburg. 
What  roads  lead  from  Baltimore  to  Pittsburg?  From 
New  York  to  Pittsburg  ? 

(J)  What  supplies  are  brought  by  railroad  besides  those  needed 
in  manufacturing  ? 

8.  Aspects  of  the  city  of  Pittsburg :  — 

Wealth  —  opportunities  for  getting,  for  spending. 

Education  —  what  special  class  of  schools  likely  to  develop. 

Smoke  and  dirt  —  due  to  nature  of  manufactures. 
Seat  Work :  — 

Illustrative  drawings. 

Maps  showing  coal  and  iron  regions,  course  of  rivers. 

Related  language  work. 

Reference  reading. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   TEACHER  IN  RELATION  TO   SUPERVISION 

Teachers  are  generally  responsible  in  some  measure  to  one 
or  more  supervisory  officers.  Those  who  control  the  schools 
believe  that  better  work  will  be  done  because  of  the  supervision 
which  is  provided.  It  may  not  be  out  of  place,  therefore,  in  a 
book  devoted  to  the  problems  of  the  teacher  to  consider  the 
relation  to  supervision  and  to  those  who  supervise  her  work. 

The  fundamental  purpose  of  supervision,  whether  of  schools 
or  of  other  activities,  is  increased  efficiency  of  all  who  partici- 
pate in  the  work.  Supervisors  are  worthy  of  the  name  only 
when  they  do  their  best  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  every  teacher 
with  whom  they  come  in  contact.  Happily,  this  attitude  of 
helpfulness  characterizes  most  of  those  who  are  known  as  prin- 
cipals, primary  or  grammar-grade  supervisors,  subject  super- 
visors, assistant  and  associate  superintendents,  and  superin- 
tendents of  schools.  It  may  be  that  because  of  the  great 
number  of  teachers  employed  in  a  system  of  schools  some  of 
these  officers  can  have  Httle  direct  relationship  with  individual 
teachers ;  but  in  the  organization  of  the  schools,  by  means  of 
regulations,  courses  of  study  and  the  like,  or  through  those 
who  come  directly  in  contact  with  teachers,  these  men  and 
women  seek  to  help  each  teacher  to  do  better  work.  It  is 
important  that  all  teachers  realize  clearly  the  significance  of 
the  supervisor's  work,  and  that  she  avail  herself  of  the  help 
and  cooperation  which  is  thus  provided. 

One  of  the  functions  of  the  supervisor  is  to  criticize  the  work 
which  is  being  done  by  individual  teachers.  It  is  especially 
difficult  for  some  teachers  to  appreciate  the  purpose  of  such 
criticism,  or  to  avail  themselves  of  the  aid  which  is  offered  in 

224 


The  Teacher  in  Relation  to  Supervision       225 

this  form.  Let  us  examine  the  different  kinds  of  criticism 
which  one  may  expect  to  receive,  and  try  to  discover  how  to 
get  the  most  out  of  this  instrument  of  supervision. 

There  are  supervisors  whose  criticism  is  occasionally  purely 
negative.  They  come  into  the  room,  observe  some  of  the 
work,  and  remark,  either  at  the  time  or  later,  that  the  work  was 
good,  or  that  it  was  poor.  It  does  not  help  one  much,  except 
in  a  feeling  of  good  will  toward  the  supervisor,  when  told  that 
work  is  well  done ;  nor  is  it  very  significant  for  future  work 
that  one's  efforts  have  been  condemned.  When  the  supervisor 
indulges  in  this  type  of  criticism,  the  teacher  has  a  right  to  ask 
him  for  the  reasons  which  lead  him  to  praise  or  to  condemn. 
If  excellent  work  is  to  be  repeated,  then  the  elements  which 
have  made  for  success  should  be  pointed  out.  One  may  try 
to  repeat  good  work  and  fail  miserably  because  the  elements 
in  the  excellent  work  which  made  for  success  have  been  over- 
looked in  the  second  effort.  Likewise  failure  may  occur,  even 
though  it  has  been  stamped  as  poor  work,  because  the  teacher 
fails  to  see  the  essential  weakness  of  her  effort. 

Most  supervisors  are  able  to  find  strength  of  some  sort  in 
the  work  of  every  teacher.  It  may  be  worth  while  for  the 
teacher  at  times  to  ask  for  a  discussion  of  the  strong  points  in 
her  work.  This  constructive  appreciative  criticism  may  help 
her  to  receive  with  open  mind  the  destructive  criticism  which 
may  be  needed  to  bring  about  the  elimination  of  weakness. 
Any  teacher  should  welcome  the  criticism  which  frankly  points 
out  the  deficiencies  of  her  work  and  suggests  the  remedies 
which  should  be  appKed.  We  all  want  to  do  our  best  work. 
Unfortunately  we  cannot  always  see  our  teaching  in  true  per- 
spective. The  supervisor  who  comes  in  from  the  outside,  as  it 
were,  with  a  wide  range  of  experience  in  teaching  and  in  ob- 
serving teachers  can  often  give  the  suggestion  which  will  make 
work,  not  only  more  efficient,  but  also  more  pleasant. 

It  is  a  good  rule  for  both  supervisor  and  teacher  to  wait 
imtil  the  end  of  the  day  or  even  for  two  or  three  days  after  the 

Q 


226     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

visit  before  the  criticism  is  given.  Snap  judgments  are  apt  to 
be  wrong  on  both  sides.  The  supervisor  needs  time  to  analyze 
the  situation  carefully  in  order  to  pick  out  the  elements  in  the 
situation  which  are  most  significant  and  to  overlook  that  which 
is  trivial.  The  teacher  will  often  be  able  to  analyze  her  own 
work  and  to  point  out  its  defects,  if  time  is  given  her  to  think  it 
over.  If  the  teacher  can  discover  her  own  inefficiency,  and 
if  she  is  willing  to  talk  frankly  with  the  supervisor  concerning 
these  difiiculties,  the  work  of  criticism  will  give  satisfaction  to 
both.  A  teacher  has  a  right  to  ask  for  an  appointment  with 
a  supervisor  for  the  discussion  of  her  work.  Supervisors  are, 
as  a  rule,  only  too  willing  to  grant  such  a  request. 

Criticism  has  not  fulfilled  its  mission,  if  it  stops  with  dis- 
covering to  the  teacher  her  strength  and  her  weakness  together 
with  the  analysis  of  the  situation  which  enables  her  to  repeat 
successes  and  avoid  failures.  A  wide-awake  teacher  will  be 
looking  and  asking  for  suggestions  concerning  new  kinds  of 
work.  Suggestive  criticism  opens  up  the  way  for  growth  by 
giving  the  teacher  the  encouragement  and  help  which  are 
needed  to  undertake  the  new  or  unusual  type  of  work.  Many 
of  the  best  teachers  might  have  remained  in  the  less  efficient 
group,  had  it  not  been  for  the  help  and  inspiration  which  was 
imparted  by  a  wise  supervisor. 

School  exhibits  are  another  means  sometimes  employed  by 
the  supervisory  force  to  increase  school  efficiency.  Here,  again, 
the  teacher  should  realize  that  the  purpose  of  the  supervisor  is 
not  to  burden  her  with  work,  but  rather  to  offer  the  help 
which  may  come  from  an  exchange  of  experiences.  The 
school  exhibit '  which  is  most  worth  while  does  not  require 
any  special  preparation  of  material  on  the  part  of  the  teacher. 
The  work  regularly  done  by  children  without  corrections  or 
refinement  constitutes  a  true  exhibit  of  the  results  secured. 
Any  other  kind  of  an  exhibit  is  merely  a  test  of  the  teacher's 
ingenuity,  her  skill  in  masquerading  under  the  names  of  her 
children. 


The  Teacher  in  Relation  to  Supervision       227 

When  a  genuine  exhibit  of  children's  work  is  brought  to- 
gether, it  affords  to  teachers  and  supervisors  aHke  a  wealth  of 
suggestion  and  help.  The  writer  remembers  visiting  an  ex- 
hibit of  drawing  and  constructive  work  in  one  of  our  large 
cities.  The  supervisors  of  this  work  were  in  charge  at  regular 
hours  each  week.  A  very  large  number  of  teachers  came  to 
see  what  was  being  done  by  other  teachers  in  their  grade.  A 
special  feature  of  the  exhibit  was  an  abundance  of  suggestions 
for  the  work  of  the  next  week  provided  by  the  supervisors  and 
taken  from  the  work  of  previous  years.  The  consultation 
between  supervisors  and  teachers  concerning  the  work  exhib- 
ited, and  with  reference  to  the  work  both  past  and  yet  to  be 
done,  was  free  from  restraint  and  often  lasted  ten,  fifteen,  or 
even  twenty  minutes.  Needless  to  say,  the  results  achieved  in 
drawing  and  constructive  work  in  this  city  were  far  above  the 
average.  Similar  exhibits  of  work  in  English  composition, 
arithmetic,  some  phases  of  the  work  in  Hterature,  nature  study, 
history,  and  geography  are  possible  and  cannot  fail  to  help  the 
teacher  who  is  anxious  to  improve  her  work. 

Visiting  the  work  of  other  teachers  has  one  advantage  not 
possessed  by  the  exhibit :  it  is  possible  to  see  not  only  the  re- 
sult but  also  the  methods  which  are  employed  in  securing  the 
product.  A  good  supervisor  should  be  able  to  tell  teachers 
where  to  go  to  see  the  kind  of  work  which  is  most  helpful. 
Any  teacher  should  welcome  the  opportunity  to  see  the  work 
of  a  teacher  who  is  strong  where  she  is  weak.  Random  visit- 
ing is  not  worth  much.  What  counts  is  a  visit  to  a  teacher 
who  has  some  help  to  offer,  in  order  to  satisfy  a  real  need. 
Often  the  most  profitable  visiting  can  be  done  within  the  sys- 
tem in  which  the  teacher  works.  Not  infrequently  the  greatest 
help  can  be  secured  from  another  teacher  in  the  same  building. 
Whenever  or  wherever  a  teacher  visits,  the  important  thing  is 
to  look  for  the  strong  points  in  the  work.  The  teacher  who 
goes  for  help  will  not  be  disappointed ;  the  one  who  looks  for 
defects,  who  is  hypercritical,  will  not  profit  by  the  time  used. 


2  28     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

After  a  visit  to  a  teacher  whose  work  is  known  by  the  super- 
visor, a  conference  may  be  held,  or  a  report  given  by  the  visit- 
ing teacher.  If  the  visit  is  worth  making,  it  is  worth  some 
further  consideration.  It  will  help  the  teacher  to  talk  over 
the  visit  with  the  supervisor  with  particular  reference  to  her 
own  work.  The  elements  of  strength  in  the  work  of  the 
teacher  visited  can  thus  be  determined,  and  the  modifications 
in  the  work  of  the  visitor  desired  by  the  supervisor  be  made 
definite. 

Examinations  have  from  time  immemorial  been  used  by 
supervisors  to  determine  the  success  of  school  work.  Teachers 
not  infrequently  seem  to  feel  that  they  are  an  unnecessary 
hardship  imposed  without  sufficient  justification,  whether 
teacher  or  pupils  are  considered.  Let  us  inquire  what  examina- 
tions should  mean  to  the  teacher.  First  of  all,  it  maybe  worth 
while  to  remember  that  the  command  of  some  knowledge,  and 
the  ability  to  use  it  when  demanded,  should  form  a  part  of  the 
equipment  of  children  who  are  being  educated.  It  is  well  at 
times  to  stop  and  discover  how  much  children  know,  and  what 
facility  they  show  in  using  their  knowledge.  It  is  a  shock 
sometimes  to  discover  that  a  room  full  of  enthusiastic,  well- 
behaved  children  do  not  know  their  multiplication  tables, 
cannot  add,  subtract,  or  divide  without  making  many  mis- 
takes, cannot  write  an  acceptable  paragraph  because  of  mis- 
takes in  form  which  they  should  have  mastered  long  ago,  do 
not  know  on  which  side  of  the  Ohio  River  to  locate  the  state  of 
Ohio  ;  but  that  is  just  what  is  apt  to  happen  in  a  school  where 
examinations  are  never  given. 

Success  or  failure  in  an  examination  should  not  be  all-im- 
portant to  children,  nor  should  it  lead  to  undue  praise  or  con- 
demnation of  teachers.  The  wise  teacher  will  try  to  find  in  the 
results  of  the  examination  evidence  of  the  deficiencies  of  her 
teaching.  In  the  light  of  the  work  done  by  the  children  she 
can  tell  where  she  can  depend  upon  their  knowledge,  what  part 
of  the  work  needs  to  be  reviewed,  which  children  need  special 


The   Teacher  in  Relation  to  Siipervision       229 

help.  An  examination  should  be  a  taking  of  stock  which  will 
enable  teacher  and  pupil  to  do  more  and  better  work,  because 
each  is  acquainted  with  the  needs  of  the  situation  better  than 
before. 

Teachers'  meetings  are  worth  just  about  what  each  indi- 
vidual teacher  is  willing  to  put  into  them.  The  teacher  who 
comes  to  a  meeting  with  her  problems,  willing  to  acknowledge 
that  she  needs  help,  and  anxious  to  get  it  will  not  find  these 
gatherings  dull  or  uninteresting.  If  the  meeting  is  organized 
for  study,  as  is  done  in  connection  with  reading  circle  work,  the 
meeting  can  be  transformed  from  a  perfunctory  recitation  of 
the  ideas  of  the  book  into  a  live  professional  discussion,  by 
the  activity  of  two  or  three  earnest  teachers.  If  the  meetings 
are  not  good,  individuals  are  at  fault ;  if  these  teachers  become 
active,  if  they  try  to  make  the  most  out  of  these  discussions, 
their  attitude  will  change. 

One  of  the  best  types  of  teachers'  meetings  is  centered  round 
the  actual  teaching  of  children  by  a  member  of  the  group,  to  be 
followed  by  discussion  of  the  work  done.  There  is  no  more 
certain  way  to  grow  professionally  than  to  be  willing  to  demon- 
strate your  theory  by  practice,  or  to  discuss  the  work  which  is 
done  by  other  members  of  the  group.  In  several  of  our  cities 
these  lessons,  taught  sometimes  by  the  supervisors  and  at  other 
times  by  the  teachers  themselves,  have  become  a  regular  fea- 
ture of  the  year's  work.  The  teacher  who  is  most  anxious  to 
grow  will  be  the  first  to  avail  herself  of  the  opportunity  to 
teach  such  a  lesson.  Supervisors  sometimes  hesitate  to  suggest 
this  kind  of  a  program  for  teachers'  meetings,  because  teachers 
are  so  unwilling  to  do  their  part  in  making  the  work  a  success. 
It  is  a  poor  professional  spirit  which  is  not  strong  enough  to 
lead  a  teacher  to  accept  the  criticism  of  her  fellow  teachers, 
when  she  knows  that  therein  lies  the  possibility  of  growth. 
Any  group  of  teachers  who  will  voluntarily  participate  in  such 
work  will  find  that  the  teachers'  meeting,  instead  of  being  a 
bore,  will  come  to  be  looked  upon  as  the  brightest  spot  in  the 


230     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

whole  week,  because  of  the  help  and  inspiration  which  is  de- 
rived from  the  hour's  work. 

Institutes  were  once  looked  upon  as  places  where  teachers 
came  to  be  entertained,  or,  possibly,  to  be  inspired.  There 
was  a  time  when  the  best  institutes  were  conducted  on  the 
*' pouring  in"  plan.  A  lecturer,  or  several  lecturers,  dispensed 
the  truth,  and  teachers  satin  their  places,  supposedly  drinking 
deep  draughts  from  these  fountains  of  wisdom.  It  is  strange 
that  all  of  the  theory  of  teaching  which  was  dispensed  did  not 
suggest  that  the  manner  of  conducting  the  institute  was  wrong. 
In  our  best  institutes  to-day  teachers  participate  in  discus- 
sion, study  and  recite  from  books,  undertake  the  revision  or 
organization  of  courses  of  study  in  cooperation  with  their 
supervisors ;  in  short,  the  institute  has  become  a  school  for 
professional  study.  In  such  an  institute,  as  in  teachers'  meet- 
ings, those  who  come  with  real  problems,  anxious  to  get  help, 
find  the  week  or  two  all  too  short.  A  group  of  teachers  anxious 
to  grow  professionally  can,  in  most  cases,  secure  the  cooperation 
of  supervisors  in  transforming  an  institute  which  is  organized 
on  the  old  basis. 

If  a  teacher's  supervisors  are  not  helping  her,  it  may  be  well 
to  inquire  whose  fault  it  is.  The  teacher  who  meets  the  super- 
visor halfway,  the  one  who  invites  criticism,  who  avails  her- 
self of  the  help  and  suggestion  which  may  come  from  exhibits, 
visiting,  teachers'  meetings,  and  institutes  will,  in  all  probabil- 
ity, grow  strong  enough  to  help  others.  She  may  in  her  turn 
be  called  upon  to  accept  the  responsibilities,  the  trials,  and  the 
joys  of  a  supervisor.^ 

For  Collateral  Reading 

The  Seventh  Yearbook  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Scientific  Study 
of  Education. 

*  Some  discussion  of  the  course  of  study  as  an  instrument  in  supervision  is 
given  in  the  chapter  on  "The  Teacher  in  Relation  to  the  Coiuse  of  Study." 


The  Teacher  in  Relation  to  Supervision       231 

Exercises. 

1.  What  is  the  purpose  of  supervision ? 

2.  Give  illustrations  of  work  done  by  the  supervisors  whom  you 
have  found  most  helpful. 

3.  Name  the  types  of  criticism.  Give  illustrations  of  each  type  from 
your  own  experience. 

4.  What  is  wrong  with  the  teacher  who  resents  adverse  criticism? 

5.  Why  wait  a  day  or  two  after  the  supervisor  has  visited  you  before 
asking  for  criticism  on  your  work  ? 

6.  If  the  supervisor  does  not  volunteer  criticism,  what  would  you  do  ? 

7.  Have  you  ever  attended  a  school  exhibit  which  has  helped  you  in 
your  work  ?  What  kind  of  work  should  be  sent  to  the  exhibit  ?  Why 
insist  upon  a  continuous  exhibit  rather  than  one  that  lasts  only  a  week  ? 

8.  How  can  you  hope  to  get  the  most  out  of  a  day's  visiting  ?  What 
help  would  you  expect  from  the  supervisor? 

9.  Of  what  value  are  examinations  to  you  ? 

ID.  When  a  teacher  says  that  she  can  get  nothing  from  the  teachers' 
meetings,  what  is  wrong  ? 

11.  What  help  would  you  expect  to  get  from  the  observation  and  dis- 
cussion of  actual  class  teaching?  Have  you  ever  taught  a  class  for 
observers  ? 

12.  What  suggestions  would  you  make  for  the  improvement  of  your 
institute  ?  Do  you  think  changes  could  be  made  if  teachers  wanted  to 
gain  the  most  possible  during  the  week  or  more  devoted  to  the  institute  ? 

13.  What  is  wrong  in  a  situation  where  teachers  complain  that  their 
supervisors  are  hard  taskmasters  ? 

14.  If  supervision  is  to  make  for  professional  growth,  what  contribu- 
tion must  the  teacher  make  ? 

15.  How  do  you  explain  the  attitude  of  the  teacher  who  says  she 
wants  no  supervision? 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  TEACHER  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY 

Teachers  sometimes  look  upon  the  course  of  study  merely 
as  a  demand  made  by  those  in  control  of  the  school  system  for 
a  large  amount  of  work  to  be  accomplished.  The  course  of 
study  indicates  that  certain  topics  in  English,  arithmetic, 
nature  study,  geography,  history,  industrial  arts,  and  the  other 
subjects  of  the  curriculum  are  assigned  to  the  grade,  and  the 
teacher  expects  that  her  pupils  will  be  examined  on  this  work 
at  stated  times  during  the  year  in  order  to  determine  the  effi- 
ciency of  her  work  and  the  fitness  of  the  children  for  promotion. 
From  this  point  of  view,  the  course  of  study  is  an  ever  present 
taskmaster,  always  urging  that  more  work  be  accomphshed. 
Let  us  inquire  whether  this  is  in  reality  the  meaning  of  the 
course  of  study  to  the  teacher. 

In  the  first  place,  all  will  admit  that  in  any  system  of  schools 
it  is  necessary  to  determine  somewhat  definitely  the  work  to 
be  done  by  a  given  grade.  If  such  provision  were  not  made, 
it  would  be  impossible  to  transfer  children  from  one  school  to 
another,  and  very  difficult  for  the  supervisory  force  to  render 
help  to  large  numbers  of  teachers.  Then,  too,  there  is  an  order 
in  the  development  of  subjects,  which  is  necessary  both  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  subject  and  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
child  who  is  to  gain  the  experience  which  the  subject  offers. 

It  is  true  that  a  course  of  study  which  is  made  to  fit  all  of 
the  children  of  a  great  city  or  state  must  be  interpreted  liber- 
ally, if  good  teaching  is  to  be  done.  To  this  end,  our  best 
courses  of  study  demand  that  a  minimum  amount  of  work  be 
done  by  all  teachers,  and  suggest  alternative  and  optional  work 
to  meet  the  needs  of  children  whose   experiences  are  varied. 

232 


The  Course  of  Study  233 

and  whose  needs  are  correspondingly  different.  In  any  pro- 
gressive school  system,  the  capable  teacher  has  opportunity 
to  vary  the  material  presented  under  the  head  of  the  various 
subjects  in  such  a  manner  as  will  satisfy  the  interests  and  the 
problems  of  the  group  of  children  for  whose  growth  she  is 
responsible. 

A  good  course  of  study  will  save  the  teacher  much  time  and 
energy  by  the  organization  of  material  which  it  presents.  In 
many  of  our  larger  cities  a  volume  of  from  fifty  to  two  hundred 
pages  has  been  prepared  for  each  subject.  These  manuals 
suggest  the  order  in  which  it  has  been  found  by  experience  that 
the  topics  can  best  be  presented.  In  many  cases  a  helpful 
analysis  of  each  large  topic  from  the  point  of  view  of  presenting 
it  to  children  is  included.  Besides  this  organization  of  material, 
references  which  will  prove  helpful  to  the  teacher,  both  from 
the  standpoint  of  subject  matter  and  of  method,  are  included 
in  our  best  courses  of  study.  In  many  cases  suggestions  for 
teaching,  elaborated  at  times  into  complete  lesson  plans,  are 
given. 

In  the  making  of  the  course  of  study,  the  teacher  should 
welcome  any  opportunity  to  contribute  her  knowledge  con- 
cerning the  availability  of  material  or  the  methods  to  be  used 
in  her  grade.  Any  good  course  of  study  should  be  the  joint 
product  of  at  least  three  classes  of  people :  the  expert  in  the 
subject,  the  expert  in  supervision  and  administration  of  schools, 
and  the  expert  teacher.  The  subject  matter  expert  is  needed 
to  pass  upon  the  material  from  the  standpoint  of  fact  and  from 
the  point  of  view  of  one  who  sees  the  beginnings  of  a  subject 
in  relation  to  the  whole  field.  The  supervisor  has  to  provide 
for  the  proper  relation  of  the  different  subjects,  determines  the 
amount  of  time  to  be  devoted  to  the  subject,  and  the  general 
method  of  procedure  in  teaching  the  subject.  The  teacher 
needs  to  advise  as  to  the  practicability  of  the  whole  scheme. 
She  has  in  mind  a  particular  group  of  children  with  certain 
experiences,  interests,  and  abilities,  and  her  judgment  is  prob- 


234     ^  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

ably  safer  than  either  of  the  others  as  to  the  availability  of  any 
particular  topic  or  phase  of  the  subject.  In  addition  to  this 
service,  any  group  of  teachers  can  give  most  significant  help 
with  respect  to  the  methods  which  have  proved  most  helpful. 
Indeed,  our  courses  of  study  could  be  made  much  more  helpful 
if  teachers  were  only  asked  to  give  suggestions  concerning 
the  organization  of  material  and  methods  of  teaching,  which 
they  are  so  well  equipped  to  offer  by  reason  of  their  experience 
in  teaching  the  subject  to  children.  Happily,  the  practice  of 
inviting  the  cooperation  of  teachers  in  making  the  course  of 
study  is  becoming  more  common  in  our  cities.  Any  capable 
teacher  who  is  anxious  to  participate  in  the  organization  of  the 
curriculum  will  find  opportunity  to  make  her  contribution. 

Possibly  there  are  teachers  who,  because  of  the  very  excel- 
lence of  the  courses  of  study  provided,  feel  that  all  that  is  re- 
quired for  them  is  to  follow  blindly  the  directions  given.  In- 
stead of  considering  the  course  of  study  as  a  hard  taskmaster, 
they  look  upon  it  as  a  crutch  upon  which  they  lean  heavily. 
For  these  teachers  there  is  little  need  for  preparation.  The 
course  of  study  and  the  textbooks  have  solved  the  problems  of 
teaching.  Let  us  inquire  just  what  the  curriculum  of  our 
schools  stands  for  before  attempting  to  decide  just  what  rela- 
tion the  teacher  bears  to  it. 

A  course  of  study  is  not  so  much  knowledge  to  be  poured  in. 
Rather  it  represents  possible  experiences  for  which  children 
may  have  need,  experiences  which  will  aid  them  in  the  solu- 
tion of  their  problems  and  make  possible  for  them  the  realiza- 
tion of  their  purposes.  How  did  all  of  this  knowledge  come  to 
be  preserved,  and  how  did  it  happen  to  be  arranged  in  groups 
labeled  by  certain  names?  Men  have  preserved  from  time 
to  time,  by  handing  down  by  word  of  mouth  or  by  records 
made  on  stone,  wood,  skin,  paper,  or  other  surfaces,  knowledge 
which  they  have  found  useful  in  meeting  the  problems  which 
confront  them.  For  convenience  of  reference  this  knowledge 
has  come  to  be  grouped,  and  to  each  group  a  name  has  been 


The  Course  of  Study  235 

applied.  If  we  could  only  remember  how  we  came  to  have  this 
body  of  knowledge,  how  it  happened  to  be  thought  worth  while 
to  preserve  the  experiences  which  when  grouped  together  we 
know  as  subjects,  it  might  make  us  a  little  more  judicious  in 
our  attempt  to  acquaint  children  with  their  inheritance. 

Our  schools  have  all  too  frequently  acted  upon  the  principle 
that  children  could  assimilate  the  school  subjects  without 
reference  to  their  past  experience  or  their  present  needs.  It  has 
been  common  to  say,  teach  so  much  of  this  or  that  subject, 
just  as  if  the  child  mind  was  a  receptacle  to  be  filled.  The 
difficulty  of  this  attitude  toward  school  subjects  is  twofold : 
first,  the  children  fail  to  gain  any  appreciation  of  the  experi- 
ences involved ;  and,  second,  they  fail  to  gain  from  the  process 
the  power  of  independent  thought,  or  the  spirit  of  investiga- 
tion which  it  is  the  purpose  of  education  to  impart. 

The  doctrine  of  formal  discipline,  as  commonly  interpreted, 
has  been  largely  responsible  for  our  wrong  idea  of  the  meaning 
of  subjects  of  study.  The  idea  that  any  study,  especially  if  it 
proved  disagreeable  to  the  pupil,  and  had  no  definite  relation- 
ship either  to  his  past  experiences  or  present  needs,  would 
mean  most  for  his  education,  has  not  yet  entirely  disappeared. 
Aside  from  the  psychological  fallacy  involved,  that  ability 
to  do  one  kind  of  work  would  spread  or  be  available  for  all 
other  kinds  of  mental  activity  which  we  call  by  the  same  gen- 
eral name,  the  devotees  of  the  doctrine  ignored  the  fact  that 
the  maximum  of  activity  or  hard  mental  work  could  be  secured 
only  under  the  stimulus  of  genuine  interest.^ 

Possibly  the  introduction  of  the  industrial  arts  ^  and  the 
more  rational  approach  which  they  demand,  may  serve  to 
illustrate  the  method  to  be  used  in  teaching  other  subjects. 

1  For  a  discussion  of  the  doctrine  of  formal  discipline,  and  for  bibliography, 
see  Thorndike,  Ediicational  Psychology,  1903  edition,  Chapter  VIII;  Heck, 
Mental  Discipline. 

^  James  E.  Russell,  "The  School  and  Industrial  Life,"  Educational  Review, 

Vol.  XXXVIII,  pp.  433-450. 


236     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

In  cooking,  for  example,  we  would  hardly  expect  to  have  a 
child  begin  by  engaging  in  an  exercise  in  beating  eggs  without 
reference  to  any  problem  which  required  this  activity.  If  chil- 
dren are  to  learn  something  of  wood  and  its  use  in  our  in- 
dustries, we  commonly  expect  them  to  gain  some  knowledge 
of  the  processes  involved  in  the  course  of  the  construction  of 
furniture  for  the  playhouse,  a  flower  box  for  the  window,  a  sled, 
a  checkerboard,  or  some  other  interesting  project.  It  is  true 
that  the  industrial  arts  lend  themselves  more  readily  to  the 
dominant  interests  of  children  to  do  and  to  make  than  do  most 
school  subjects.  If  these  activities,  which  are  essentially  the 
activities  characteristic  of  our  modern  civilization,  be  used  to 
best  advantage,  they  will  offer  many  opportunities  for  making 
significant  the  other  subjects. 

Any  considerable  participation  in  the  processes  which  are 
fundamental  to  the  great  industries  cannot  fail  to  arouse  an 
interest  in  the  source  of  materials,  the  development  of  the  in- 
dustry, and  a  desire  to  express  one's  self  with  reference  to  the 
work  which  is  being  done.  From  the  interest  in  the  source  of 
materials  grows  naturally  the  work  in  nature  study  and  geog- 
raphy. The  development  of  the  industry  takes  us  back  even 
to  the  time  of  primitive  man,  and  history  becomes  significant. 
The  handling  of  materials  in  construction  suggests  the  need  of 
measurement,  and  arithmetic  is  provided  for.  In  all  of  this 
work  there  will  be  a  demand  for  communication,  the  necessity 
to  learn  what  others  have  recorded  in  books,  and  the  wish  to 
express  one's  own  experience  in  oral  and  written  speech.  The 
experiences  of  people  like  ourselves,  as  idealized  in  literature, 
will  make  its  appeal  in  spite  of  the  worst  our  teaching  can  do. 
It  is  not  maintained  that  all  subject  matter  groups  itself  natu- 
rally around  industrial  activities,  and  that  these  activities 
should,  therefore,  form  the  center  of  the  curriculum ;  rather,  it 
is  sought  to  emphasize  the  relationships  to  the  real  needs  of 
children  and  the  possibility  of  utilizing  these  genuine  motiver 
in  the  teaching  of  school  subjects. 


The  Course  of  Study  237 

We  teach  the  subjects  of  the  curriculum  in  order  that  chil- 
dren may  understand  their  environment,  be  adjusted  to  it,  and, 
as  President  Butler  puts  it,  come  into  possession  of  their  spir- 
itual inheritance.  Out  of  the  work  which  is  done,  these  same 
children  should  gain  power  to  adapt  themselves  to  new  con- 
ditions and  should  be  equipped  to  render  service  in  the  prog- 
ress which  is  yet  to  be  made  in  our  society.  Now  one's 
adjustment  to  the  present  environment  must  be  an  adjustment 
to  his  environment,  a  solution  of  his  problems  as  they  at  pres- 
ent exist.  Future  adaptabihty  is  conditioned  by  the  ex- 
perience which  one  has  had  in  making  such  adjustments. 
The  ability  to  contribute  to  the  progress  in  which  each  should 
participate  is  dependent,  not  so  much  upon  the  number  of  facts 
one  possesses,  as  upon  the  attitude  of  investigation  which 
characterizes  him,  the  respect  for  truth,  and  ability  to  think 
straight  which  have  been  developed  by  his  education.  From 
whatever  point  of  view  we  approach  the  problem  of  teach- 
ing our  subjects,  the  answer  is  the  same :  meet  present  situ- 
ations, solve  present  real,  vital  problems,  make  subject 
matter  meet  the  needs  of  the  children  you  are  teaching. 
This  analysis  of  the  curriculum  makes  apparent  the  impor- 
tant part  to  be  played  by  the  teacher  in  making  available 
the  experiences  which  the  school  subjects  are  organized  to 
present. 

The  courses  of  study  may  present  much  that  is  helpful  in 
the  organization  of  material,  the  suggestions  for  teaching  may 
be  gathered  from  the  experience  of  many  teachers,  and  still 
the  great  problem  of  making  these  subjects  vital  to  children 
remains  as  the  work  of  every  teacher.  Motives  which  grow 
out  of  the  experience  which  children  have  already  had  must 
be  sought.  The  material  to  be  presented  will  be  significant 
in  the  experience  of  these  children  only  when  they  approach 
it  in  order  to  satisfy  their  real  needs.  Aside  from  the  possibil- 
ity of  finding  in  one  of  the  subjects,  as,  for  example,  the  in- 
dustrial arts,  a  motive  for  other  work,  the  school  situation 


238     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

itself  presents  many  opportunities  for  discovering  real  needs 
to  children. 

The  school  festival,  school  parties  for  parents,  fairs  and 
sales,  the  general  assembly,  excursions,  gardening  or  other 
industrial  activity,  plays  and  games,  have  in  the  hands  of 
skillful  teachers  provided  a  compelling  motive  for  a  great 
variety  of  school  work.  The  author  would  not  deny  the  power 
of  intellectual  interest,  but  he  knows,  as  does  every  other  teacher, 
that  with  children  in  the  elementary  school  this  motive  is  only 
gradually  developed.  The  teacher  who  is  alert  to  find  some 
real  need  for  the  computations  of  arithmetic;  who  gives  a 
genuine  opportunity  for  oral  or  written  expression ;  who  ap- 
peals to  the  desire  to  use  the  knowledge  gained  in  history  and 
geography  by  means  of  the  historical  festival,  the  article  in  the 
school  paper,  and  the  like,  as  well  as  to  the  curiosity  of  the  child ; 
who  allows  children  to  make  real  things  which  satisfy  their 
individual  or  collective  needs  in  the  industrial  arts,  —  is  the 
teacher  who  is  teaching  school  subjects  in  the  way  that  will 
mean  most  in  the  education  of  her  pupils. 

The  demand  that  the  teacher  vitalize  the  curriculum  does 
not  lose  sight  of  the  necessity  for  drill,  or  of  the  demand  that 
children  know^  as  a  result  of  their  education.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  more  vital  the  experiences,  the  more  apparent  it  be- 
comes to  both  teacher  and  pupil  that  the  fixing  of  knowledge  or 
the  acquiring  of  skill  is  a  necessary  condition  of  present  efiiciency 
and  of  future  progress.  The  children  who  have  the  most 
genuine  need  for  the  multiplication  table  will  be  the  first  to 
learn  it.  If  you  are  to  read  to  a  whole  school  and  want  to 
have  them  enjoy  with  you  the  selection  which  you  are  to  in- 
terpret, you  will  have  the  best  possible  reason  for  good  ex- 
pression. History  means  something,  if  you  really  need  to 
know  the  history  of  a  period  in  order  to  reproduce  accurately 
its  language,  manners,  dress,  and  the  Hke  in  your  festival. 
The  mistake  which  at  times  has  been  made  by  enthusiastic 
teachers  of  neglecting  the  drill  side  of  the  work,  has  not  been 


The  Course  of  Study  239 

due  to  any  difficulty  which  the  situation  presented  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  children  who  are  engaged  in  meaningful 
activities. 

The  teacher  may  not  expect  all  children  to  gain  equally  in 
command  of  the  experiences  represented  by  the  course  of  study. 
For  her  there  must  literally  be  courses  of  study  for  each  sub- 
ject, in  that  she  must  adapt  her  work  in  so  far  as  is  possible  to 
individual  needs.  The  office  of  teacher  may  well  be  exalted, 
for  it  is  the  teacher  who  must,  because  of  her  insight,  provide 
for  the  needs  of  each  child  committed  to  her  care,  and  in  ren- 
dering this  service  provide  society  with  its  greatest  asset,  a 
truly  educated  human  being. 


For  Collateral  Reading 

S.  T.  Button  and  D.  Snedden,  Administration  of  Public  Education  in 
the  United  States,  Chapter  XVIII. 

Exercises. 

The  selections  from  courses  of  study  are  quoted  by  Dr.  C.  W.  Stone 
in  his  monograph  on  Arithmetic  Abilities  and  Some  Factors  Deter- 
mining them.  In  Dr.  Stone's  study  the  pupils  in  twenty-six  schools 
or  school  systems  were  tested.  One  of  the  problems  raised  had  reference 
to  the  excellence  of  the  course  of  study.  The  selections  quoted  repre- 
sent a  variety  in  excellence  such  as  one  will  find  in  the  courses  of  study 
prepared  in  any  subject. 

Study  these  selections  from  the  following  points  of  view :  — 

1.  Do  any  of  them  give  too  little  information  to  the  teacher  concern- 
ing the  work  required  in  the  grade  ? 

2.  Do  any  of  them  restrict  the  work  of  the  teacher  unduly? 

3.  Which  do  you  consider  the  best  course  of  study? 

4.  Are  any  of  these  statements  so  complete  as  to  relieve  the  teacher 
of  the  necessity  of  reorganizing  the  work  for  her  own  class  ? 

5.  How  would  you  modify  any  of  these  courses  of  study  in  order  to 
make  it  more  valuable  to  teachers  ? 

6.  Indicate  possible  maximum,  mioimum,  and  optional  work  in  the 
third-grade  work  in  arithmetic. 


240     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

SELECTIONS  ILLUSTRATING  GENERAL  EXCELLENCE 

From  each  of  two  systems  ranking  among  the  lowest  five  in  course  of 
study. 

3  B,  Speer  work.  Simple  work  in  addition  and  subtraction,  follow- 
ing the  plan  in  the  Eletnentary  Arithmetic. 

3  A.   Primary  Book.     First  half  page  26,  second  half  page  41 » 

Grade  III,  Number 

Exercises,  mental  and  written,  in  addition,  subtraction,  multiplication, 
and  division  of  numbers. 

The  processes  will  be  explained. 

The  multiplication  table  up  to  12  will  be  made  by  the  pupils  and 
thoroughly  committed  to  memory. 

Drill  in  rapid  addition. 

Notation  and  numeration  to  five  periods. 

Table  of  weights.  United  States  and  English  money.  Problems  in  all 
tables  learned. 

Square  and  cubic  measure.  Troy  and  apothecaries'  weights.  Prin- 
ciples of  multiplication. 

From  the  system  standing  best  in  course  of  study. 

Grade  III  B 

Scope:  Review  the  work  taught  in  preceding  grades.  (This  review 
may  require  from  four  to  six  weeks.) 

Addition  and  subtraction  of  numbers  through  twenty.  Multiplica- 
tion and  division  tables  through  4's.  Give  much  practice  upon  the 
addition  of  single  columns.  Abstract  addition,  two  columns ;  the  result 
of  each  column  should  not  exceed  twenty.  The  writing  of  numbers 
through  one  thousand.  Roman  notation  through  one  hundred.  Frac- 
tions I,  \,  and  \.  The  object  of  the  work  of  this  grade  is  to  make  pupils 
ready  in  the  use  of  the  simple  fundamental  processes. 

Book:  Cook  and  Cropsey's  New  Elementary  Arithmetic  (for  use  of 
teacher),  pp.  i  to  46. 

The  chief  difficulty  in  the  work  of  this  grade  is  in  teaching  the  arith- 
metical forms  as  applied  to  concrete  processes.  Pupils  should  know 
very  thoroughly  the  work  given  on  pages  i  to  23,  Cook  and  Cropsey's 
Arithmetic,  before  any  new  forms  are  taught.  They  have  up  to  this 
time  used  the  arithmetical  signs  and  the  sentence,  and  have  stated  results 
only.  New  forms  for  addition  and  subtraction  are  first  applied  to  con- 
crete processes  on  page  24.    No  other  forms  should  be  taught  imtU 


The  Course  of  Study  241 

pupils  are  very  familiar  with  these.  A  drill  should  be  given  showing 
that  these  two  forms  are  identical  and  that  we  must  first  know  what  we 
wish  to  use  them  for,  if  appUed  to  problems.    Write   9 

2 

upon  the  board  and  indicate  your  thought  by  the  signs  +  and  — . 
999  apples  9  apples 

+2  —2  +2  —2 

II  7  II  7  apples 

Pupils  should  be  very  familiar  with  these  forms  before  any  written 
concrete  work  is  given. 

When  the  new  form  for  multiplication  is  introduced,  this  drill  should 
be  repeated  : 

9  9  9 

+2  -2  X2 

II  7  18 

Nothing  new  should  be  added  to  this  until  pupils  can  use  these  forms 
without  confusion. 

When  presenting  the  new  forms  for  division  and  partition  the  same 
method  may  be  used,  but  pupils  should  use  the  form  for  division  some 
weeks  before  using  the  same  form  for  partition.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
use  the  division  form  for  partition  until  the  last  four  weeks  of  the  term, 
and  not  even  then,  if  there  seems  to  be  any  danger  of  confusion  in  using 
the  same  form  for  both  processes.  The  terms  division  and  partition 
should  not  be  used.  The  terms  measure  and  finding  one  of  the  equal 
parts  can  be  easily  understood.  Pupils  should  be  able  to  read  arith- 
metical forms  well,  before  any  use  is  made  of  these  forms  in  their  applica- 
tion to  written  concrete  work. 

All  concrete  problems  should  be  simple  and  within  the  child's  experi- 
ence. 

Grade  III  A 

Scope:  I.   Review  the  work  of  Grade  3  B. 

2.  Abstract  addition  of  three  columns.  Subtraction,  using  abstract 
numbers  through  thousands.  Addition  and  subtraction  of  United  States 
money.  Multiplication  and  division  tables  through  6's.  Multiplica- 
tion and  division  of  abstract  numbers  through  thousands,  using  2,  3,  4, 
and  5  as  divisors.  Addition  and  subtraction  by  "endings"  through  2  +9, 
last  month  of  term.  Writing  numbers  through  ten  thousands.  Roman 
notation  through  one  hundred.     Fractions  |,  |,  and  \. 

3.  Application  of  fundamental  processes  to  simple  concrete  prob- 
lems, of  one  step. 

4.  Measures    used  —  inch,    foot,    yard,    square  inch ;    pint,    quart, 


242     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaclmig  Process 

gallon;  peck,  bushel;  second,  minute,  hour,  day,  week,  month,  year. 
Use  actual  measures. 

Books:  (In  hands  of  pupils)  Walsh's  New  Primary  Arithmetic,  pp.  i 
to  68. 

(For  teachers'  use)  Cook  and  Cropsey's  New  Elementary  Arithmetic, 
pp.  46  to  85,  Article  105. 

Even  with  only  the  work  of  a  single  grade  to  judge  from,  one  has  no 
difficulty  in  recognizing  the  wide  difiference  in  the  excellence  of  these 
courses.  As  may  be  seen  from  Table  XXVTII,  page  73,  in  the  rating 
they  stand  about  thirty  steps  apart,  i.e.  the  one  from  which  the  third 
illustration  was  taken  has  a  score  of  65,  while  the  others  have  scores  of 
32  and  39,  respectively. 

SELECTIONS  ILLUSTRATING  EXCELLENCE  IN  DRILL  AND 
IN   CONCRETENESS 

From  the  system  ranking  next  to  the  best  in  driU. 

Grade  III  B 
I.   Objective. 

1.  Work. 

a.  Fractions.    Review   previous   work.    Teach    new    fractions; 

yths,  loths,  and  i2ths. 
5.   Notation,  numeration,  addition  and  subtraction  of  numbers  to 

1000. 

c.  Liquid  and  dry  measures. 

d.  United  States  money. 

e.  Weights. 

2.  Objects  and  Devices. 
a.    Counting  frame. 

h.  Splints,  disks  for  fractions,  etc. 

c.  Shelves. 

d.  Liquid  and  dry  measure. 

e.  United  States  money. 
/.  Scales. 

XL   Abstract. 
I.   Work. 

a.  Counting  to  100  by  2's,  lo's,  3's,  4's,  g's,  ii's,    5's,   beginning 

with  any  number  under  10;    counting  backwards  by  same 
numbers,  beginning  with  any  number  under  100. 

b.  Multiplication  tables.    Review  tables  already  studied.    Teach 

7  and  9. 


7  X  I 

2  X7 

7  ^  I 

21  -3 

I  X7 

7  X3 

14 -^  2 

21  -^  7 

7  X  2 

3  X7 

14^  7 

7)^^  Course  of  Study                        243  j 

\ 

,) 

c.    Drill  in  recognizing  sum  of  three  numbers  at  a  glance ;  review  j 

combinations  already  learned;    20  new  ones.  j 

2.   Devices.  j 

a.   Combination  cards,  large  and  small.  '; 

h.   Wheels.  | 

c.  Chart  for  addition  and  subtraction.  j 

d.  Fraction  chart.  ' 

e.  Miscellaneous  drill  cards.  \ 
/.    Pack  of  "three"  combination  cards.  i 

Prince's  Arithmetic,  Book  III,  Sects.  I  and  II.  i 

Speer's  Elementary  Arithmetic,  pp.  1-55.  i 

Shelves:  See  II  A.  i 

Combination  Cards:    large  and  small.      These  cards  should  contain  ! 

all  the  facts  of  multiplication  tables  3,  6,  8,  7,  and  9.    As: —  ■ 


etc. 


For  use  of  these  cards,  see  directions  in  I  B.                                                               ' 

Wheels  for  Multiphcation  and  Division :  • 

See  directions  under  II  A.  I 

Chart  for  Adding  and  Subtracting :  \ 

For  directions,  see  II  B  and  II  A.  j 

Add  and  subtract  2's,  3's,  4's,  5's,  9's,  lo's,  ii's,  12's,  15's,  and  20's.  j 

Fraction  Chart  shows,  ^,  J,  i,  i,  \,  \,  t^^.  j 

Miscellaneous  Drill  Cards :  j 
For  directions,  see  I  A. 
"Three"  Combination  Cards: 

For  use,  see  I  A.  j 

Grade  III  A  \ 
I.   Objective. 

1.  Work.  ; 
a.  Fractions  previously  assigned.  \ 
h.   Notation,    numeration,    addition,  subtraction,  multiplication,                   * 

and  division  of  numbers  to  1000.  I 

c.  Long  and  square  measures.  j 

d.  Weights.  •! 

2.  Objects  and  Devices :  | 
a.  Counting  frame.  j 
h.  Splints,  disks  for  fractions,  etc. 


i 

i 

244     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process  \ 

\ 

c.  Shelves.  ^ 

d.  Scales.  j 
I.   Abstract.  ' 

1.  Work. 

a.  Counting  to   100  by  any  number  from  2  to  12,  inclusive,  begin- 

ning with  any  number  under  10 ;  counting  by  same  numbers       ! 
backward,  beginning  with  any  number  under  100. 

b.  Multiplication  tables  —  all  tables.  i 

c.  Drill  in  recognizing  sum  of  three  numbers  at  a  glance ;  review 

combinations  already  learned ;  20  new  ones. 

2.  Devices.  • 

a.  Combination  cards  —  large  and  small.  j 

b.  Wheels. 

c.  Chart  for  adding  and  subtracting. 

d.  Chart  for  fractions.  j 

e.  Miscellaneous  drill  cards.  j 
/.  Pack  of  "  three "  combination  cards.  1 

Prince's  Arithmetic,  Book  III,  Sects.  Ill  to  VI,  inclusive.  ; 

Speer's  Elementary  Arithmetic,  pp.  56-104.  ! 

Shelves:  See  II  a.  \ 

Combination  Cards:  large  and  small.  The  cards  should  contain  all 
the  facts  of  the  multiplication  tables  11  and  12,  also  the  most  difficult 
combinations  from  the  other  multiplication  tables.     As :  — 


12  X  I 

12  -7-   I 

24  ^   2 

I    X  12 

12  -T-   12 

24  -T-  12,  etc. 

12    X   2 

12  -^   2 

2    X   12 

12^3 

For  use  of  cards,  see  directions  in  I  B. 

Wheels  for  Multiplication  and  Division :  : 

See  directions  under  II  A.  ' 

Chart  for  Adding  and  Subtracting :  j 

For  directions,  see  II  B  and  II  A.  ! 
Add  and  subtract  6's,  7's,  8's,  13's,  14's,  i6's,  17's,  i8's,  and  19's. 

Review  other  numbers  under  20.  \ 

Chart  for  Fractions  shows  all  fractions  already  assigned.  I 

Miscellaneous  Drill  Cards :  | 

For  directions,  see  I  A.  j 
From  the  system  ranking  best  in  concreteness. 

Mathematics:    If   the   children  are  actually  doing  work  which  has      : 
social  value,  they  must  gain  accurate  knowledge  of  the  activities  in  which      : 


The  Course  of  Study  245 

they  are  engaged.  They  will  keep  a  record  of  all  expenses  for  materials 
used  in  the  school,  and  will  do  simple  bookkeeping  in  connection  with 
the  store  which  has  charge  of  this  material.  In  cooking,  weights  and 
measures  will  be  learned.  The  cliildren  will  also  keep  accounts  of  the 
cost  of  ingredients.  Proportions  will  be  worked  out  in  the  cooking 
recipes.  When  the  children  dramatize  the  Hfe  of  the  trader,  in  con- 
nection with  history,  they  have  opportunity  to  use  all  standards  of 
measurements.  Number  is  demanded  in  almost  all  experimental  science 
work ;  for  instance,  the  amount  of  water  contained  in  the  different  kinds 
of  fruit,  or  the  amount  of  water  evaporated  from  fruits  under  different 
conditions  (in  drying  fruits).  All  plans  for  wood  work  will  be  worked 
to  a  scale  and  demand  use  of  fractions.  When  the  children  have  en- 
countered many  problems  which  they  must  solve  in  order  to  proceed 
with  their  work,  they  are  ready  to  be  drilled  on  the  processes  involved 
until  they  gain  facility  in  the  use  of  these.  The  children  should  be  able 
to  think  through  the  problems  which  arise  in  their  daily  work,  and  have 
automatic  use  of  easy  numbers,  addition,  subtraction,  multipHcation, 
short  division,  and  easy  fractions. 

As  one  reads  these  two  samples  of  excellence  he  must  find  that  each 
is  so  excellent  in  its  one  strong  feature  that  it  is  not  good;  that  work 
according  to  either  must  suffer ;  that  what  each  needs  is  what  the  other 
has.     Such  a  synthesis  is  represented  in  the  next  illustration. 

A  Combination  of  Excellences 

September,  i.  Measure  height,  determine  weight.  From  records 
determine  growth  since  September,  1905.  2.  Learn  to  read  thermom- 
eter. Make  accurately,  scale  one  fourth  inch  representing  two  degrees 
on  paper  one  inch  broad.  Find  average  temperature  of  different  days 
of  month.  Practice  making  figures  from  i  to  100  for  the  thermometer 
scale.  Count  100  by  2's.  3.  Make  temperature  chart.  4.  Measure 
and  space  calendar,  making  figures  of  size  appropriate  to  inch  squares. 
Learn  names  of  numbers  to  30.  5.  Make  inch- wide  tape  measure  for 
use  in  nature  study,  number  book  and  cubic-inch  seed  boxes.  6.  Re- 
view telling  time.  A.  In  addition  to  above;  analyze  numbers  from 
II  to  40  into  tens  and  ones.  Walsh's  Primary  Arithmetic  to  top  of 
page  10. 

October.  Problems  on  calendar,  —  number  of  clear,  of  cloudy,  and 
of  rainy  days  in  September.  Compare  with  September,  1905,  1904,  1903, 
1902;  temperature  chart  and  thermometer;  height  and  weight.  Lay 
off  beds  for  tree  seeds ;  plant  the  same.  INIake  envelopes  for  report  cards. 
Drill  on  combinations  in  the  above.     Make  rod  strings  and  hundred- 


246     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

foot  strings  for  determining  distance  wing  seeds  are  carried  from  plants. 
Practice  making  figm^es  from  i  to  100  for  thermometer  scale.  Develop 
table  of  tens.  A.  In  addition  to  the  above  analyze  numbers  from  40 
to  50  into  tens  and  ones.  Primary  Arithnetic,  pp.  10-22.  Teach 
pupils  to  add  at  sight. 

November.  From  wall  calendar  count  number  of  clear  days,  of 
cloudy  days,  and  rainy  days  in  October.  Compare  with  September; 
with  October  of  1905,  of  1906.  Find  average  daily  temperature;  8.30 
A.M.,  I  P.M.  What  kind  of  trees  grow  fastest  ?  Measure  growth  of 
twigs  of  different  kinds  of  trees.  Compare  this  year's  growth  with  that 
of  last  year  and  of  year  before  last.  Compare  rate  of  growth  of  differ- 
ent kinds  of  trees,  as  oak,  willow,  Carolina  poplar,  and  elm.  Develop 
table  of  5's  from  lesson  with  clock  dial;  review  2's  and  lo's.  Practice 
making  figures  from  i  to  100  for  the  thermometer  scale.  Learn  words 
representing  numbers  as  well  as  figures.  Make  seed  envelope.  A.  Ana- 
lyze numbers  from  60  to  65  into  tens  and  ones.  Primary  Arithmetic. 
B,pp.  17-26;  A,  pp.  39-49. 

Last  six  weeks  of  first  term.  —  Continue  finding  average  daily  tem- 
perature. From  wall  calendar  count  number  of  clear,  of  cloudy,  and 
of  rainy  days  in  November.  Compare  with  November,  1906,  1905. 
Continue  measurements  on  growth  of  trees.  Drill  on  telling  time  from 
clock  dial.  Practice  making  figures  from  i  to  100  for  thermometer 
scale.  Continue  learning  w^ords  representing  numbers.  Review  tables 
of  2's,  5's,  lo's;  learn  table  of  3's.  Primary  Arithmetic.  B,  pp. 
27-40.  Analyze  numbers  from  11  to  30  into  tens  and  ones.  Primary 
Arithmetic.  A,  pp.  49-61.  Analyze  numbers  from  66  to  100  into 
tens  and  ones.  In  January  review  all  facts  in  number  book.  Drill  on 
tables. 

(Only  the  first  one  half  of  the  third  year's  course  shown.) 

The  system  from  which  this  last  selection  is  taken  had  the  following 
remarkable  rankings:  3d  best  in  general  excellence,  2d  best  in  con- 
creteness,  and  5th  best  in  drill.  And  as  measured  by  the  tests  of  this 
study,  this  system  stood  4th  from  the  best  in  abilities,  and  spent  a  little 
less  than  the  medium  amount  of  time. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

MEASURING  RESULTS  IN  EDUCATION 

Efficiency  in  any  line  of  human  endeavor  depends  upon 
our  ability  to  evaluate  the  results  which  are  secured.  No  one 
would  question  the  progress  which  has  been  made  in  education 
during  the  past  hundred  years ;  but  one  may  very  justly  in- 
quire concerning  the  efficiency  of  the  work  that  has  been  done 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  money  which  has  been  spent,  and 
the  effort  and  devotion  of  those  who  have  engaged  in  teaching. 
In  the  mercantile  pursuits  it  has  been  noted  that  seven  out  of 
every  ten  failures  can  be  charged  directly  to  a  lack  of  knowl- 
edge of  facts.  Such  investigations  as  we  have  had  in  educa- 
tion tend  to  prove  that  a  like  situation  is  to  be  found  in  this 
field.  The  failures  in  education,  whether  due  to  a  lack  of 
economical  use  of  the  funds  available,  to  an  inefficient  system 
of  organization,  or  to  unintelligent  practices  in  method,  are, 
on  the  whole,  not  to  be  charged  to  a  lack  of  devotion  on  the 
part  of  those  who  have  given  their  lives  to  the  schools.  Until 
it  is  possible  to  measure  the  results  achieved,  the  facts  of  suc- 
cess or  failure  cannot  be  established. 

Of  course,  no  one  would  deny  that  real  progress  is  made  by 
the  process  of  trial  and  success,  both  in  the  art  of  teaching  and 
in  the  practice  of  administration.  It  is  true,  too,  that  we  shall 
have  to  depend  in  considerable  measure  upon  demonstration 
as  a  means  of  bringing  about  improvement  in  current  educa- 
tional practice.  It  is  none  the  less  true,  however,  that  scien- 
tific work  in  education  will  furnish  the  basis  for  the  more  rapid 
eHmination  of  the  mistakes  in  current  practice,  as  well  as  point 
the  way  for  improved  organization  of  teaching.  The  science 
of  education  will,  in  its  development,  occupy  relatively  the 

247 


248     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

same  position  with  reference  to  the  art  of  teaching  that  the 
science  of  medicine  occupies  with  respect  to  the  art  of  healing. 
The  progress  which  has  been  made  during  the  past  twenty-five 
years  in  the  art  of  farming  would  never  have  been  possible 
without  the  scientific  work  that  has  been  done  in  agriculture. 

Aside  from  the  fact  that  we  are  only  beginning  to  have  a 
profession  of  education,  many  other  factors  have  entered  to 
delay  the  progress  in  the  direction  of  standardizing  our  work 
by  means  of  accurate  measurement  of  the  results  achieved. 
One  of  the  most  comforting  of  the  fallacies  which  are  at  times 
urged  against  the  attempt  to  measure  results  is  found  in  the 
popular  statement  that  the  only  criterion  by  which  the  success 
of  school  work  can  be  measured  is  found  in  the  ultimate  success 
of  the  individuals  who  are  subjected  to  the  process.  The  most 
ineflicient  teacher  in  the  most  poorly  equipped  school,  if  his 
period  of  service  has  been  long  enough,  will  point  to  the  success 
of  a  few  of  the  boys  who  once  attended  that  particular  school, 
as  proof  of  the  adequacy  of  the  work  which  is  now  being  done. 
The  failures  are  never  brought  to  mind.  The  fallacious  reason- 
ing found  in  such  an  appeal  is  all  too  common  in  our  educa- 
tional discussion.  To  take  a  selected  group  of  individuals, 
who  have,  because  of  native  ability,  and  possibly  because  of 
favorable  environment,  achieved  distinction;  and  to  claim 
that  this  success  is  due  to  our  system  of  education,  may  be 
satisfying  to  our  pride,  but  cannot  appeal  to  our  good  judg- 
ment. The  only  available  measure  of  the  success  of  the  work 
done  in  any  particular  school  is  to  be  found  in  the  changes 
which  are  brought  about  in  boys  and  girls,  young  men  and 
young  women,  during  the  period  of  their  school  life. 

It  has  been  argued,  too,  that  that  which  is  most  worth 
while  in  education  cannot  be  measured.  Those  who  advance 
this  argument  speak  continually  in  terms  of  ''atmosphere," 
*'  spirit,"  and  the  like.  There  are  two  replies  to  be  made  to  this 
contention.  The  one  is  that  any  power  which  the  teacher 
has,  whether  it  is  called  influence,  or  ability  to  teach  arith- 


Measuring  Results  in  Education  249 

metic,  must  result  in  some  change  in  the  children  who  are 
taught.  Another  equally  vaHd  answer  is  to  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  the  best  teachers  of  arithmetic,  of  literature,  of 
geography,  of  history,  and  the  other  studies  are,  at  the  same 
time,  the  teachers  whose  influence  we  value  most  in  the  school. 

We  have  been  hopeful  that  the  sciences  of  biology,  psy- 
chology, sociology,  and  economics  would,  in  their  develop- 
ment, solve  the  problems  of  education.  No  one  would  deny 
the  significance  of  the  work  done  in  these  fields  as  fundamental 
to  the  development  of  scientific  work  in  education.  No  one 
is  fully  equipped  to  undertake  investigation  in  the  field  of 
education  without  preliminary  training  in  these  fundamental 
sciences.  Progress  in  the  science  of  education  has  come, 
however,  through  the  efforts  of  those  men  of  sound  funda- 
mental training  who  have  attacked  the  problems  of  education 
as  such,  rather  than  through  the  work  of  the  biologist,  psy- 
chologist, sociologist,  or  economist.  If  we  should  wait  for  the 
sciences  mentioned  to  solve  our  problems,  progress  would 
indeed  be  slow. 

Those  who  are  unacquainted  with  modern  statistical  meth- 
ods as  applied  in  the  social  sciences  have  at  times  felt  that 
it  was  impossible  to  measure  large  groups  of  individuals  who 
differ  in  ability,  in  interest,  and  in  environment.  It  is  im- 
possible within  the  limits  of  a  brief  chapter  to  make  clear  the 
validity  of  such  measurement.  It  may  be  confidently  asserted, 
however,  that  the  measurement  of  a  large  group  of  individuals 
is,  on  the  whole,  more  satisfactory  than  the  attempt  to  measure 
a  single  individual.  We  can  be  more  sure  of  the  accuracy 
of  our  results  in  comparing  two  groups  of  children  of  a  thou- 
sand each,  than  we  could  in  the  attempt  to  measure  accurately 
a  single  individual  with  regard  to  ability  in  school  subjects. 

A  most  persistent  objection  to  the  measuring  of  results  comes 
from  those  who  feel  that  it  is  not  fair  to  compare  individuals 
or  groups  who  are  not  alike  in  all  particulars.  They  would 
claim,  for  example,  that  we  cannot  compare  children  in  spelling 


250     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

ability  when  one  group  comes  from  homes  in  which  the  Eng- 
lish language  is  spoken,  while  the  other  comes  from  the  homes 
of  those  who  speak  a  foreign  language.  It  is  probable  that 
this  objection  is  due  to  a  belief  that  measurement  will  result 
in  a  comparison  of  the  present  situation  without  any  regard 
to  the  growth  or  development  which  has  characterized  the 
group.  If  we  derive  units  of  measurement  in  spelling,  mani- 
festly the  attempt  would  be  to  measure  the  changes  which  have 
been  brought  about  in  any  group  in  terms  of  units  which  are 
comparable.  If  group  one  shows  ability  ten,  having  advanced 
during  the  year  from  ability  seven,  it  will  be  considered  just 
as  satisfactory  as  the  advance  which  has  been  made  in  group 
two,  which  has  moved  from  ability  eight  to  ability  eleven. 
In  other  words,  the  purpose  of  measurement  is  never  to  attempt 
to  make  all  alike.  It  is  rather  to  discover  differences  and  the 
reason  for  their  existence;  but  most  of  all  to  give  us  some 
adequate  means  of  determining  progress  or  change. 

Let  us  suppose  again,  in  a  matter  of  business  administration, 
that  one  school  shows  a  much  higher  per  capita  cost  than 
another.  This  does  not  prove  that  one  school  is  more  effi- 
ciently managed  than  another.  What  it  does  do  is  to  suggest 
that  some  adequate  reason  is  to  be  found  for  the  difference 
which  exists.  In  like  manner,  one  city  may  show  a  much 
higher  cost  for  janitors'  salaries  than  does  another.  This  may 
suggest  investigation,  but  it  does  not  prove  that  the  city  with 
the  higher  cost  for  janitors'  service  is  inefficiently  managed 
or  extravagant  in  its  expenditures.  It  may  be  that  the  city 
that  spends  a  relatively  large  amount  for  janitorial  service 
actually  gets  more  per  dollar  for  the  money  which  it  spends 
than  does  the  city  with  the  smaller  cost.  It  is  always  a  purpose 
of  measurement  to  discover  discrepancies  and  to  raise  problems. 

It  has  been  contended  that  it  is  not  important  to  derive 
scales  or  units  of  measurement  on  the  ground  that  the  scientific 
study  of  education  is  significant  only  in  so  far  as  it  has  to  do 
with  a  careful  investigation  of  the  processes  involved  in  growth. 


Measuring  Results  in  Education  251 

Those  who  make  this  contention  seem  to  feel  that  a  careful 
study  of  the  way  in  which  children  come  to  form  habits,  to 
grow  in  power  of  reasoning,  or  in  ability  to  appreciate,  will  give 
us  the  final  answer  concerning  the  methods  to  be  employed  in 
teaching.  The  difficulty  with  this  point  of  view  is  that  human 
beings,  even  though  they  be  trained  in  investigation,  are  fallible. 
The  only  final  test  of  the  success  of  any  method,  however 
carefully  derived,  and  however  much  of  it  may  depend  upon 
a  knowledge  of  the  processes  involved  in  growth  in  the  par- 
ticular aspect  of  mental  life  which  is  involved,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  result  achieved.  Theoretically  a  method  may  seem  to 
be  perfect,  and  yet  in  terms  of  the  results  which  are  secured  it 
may  prove  to  be  a  failure.  If  the  results  are  not  accurately 
measured,  if  we  do  not  derive  scales  of  measurement,  we  can 
never  be  certain  of  our  conclusions  with  regard  to  the  method 
to  be  employed  in  bringing  about  any  particular  type  of  mental 
growth  or  development. 

Possibly  the  one  element  in  the  situation  which  has  operated 
to  retard  development  in  the  direction  of  accurate  measure- 
ment of  results,  more  than  any  other,  is  the  tendency  in  educa- 
tion to  appeal  to  authority,  and  the  corresponding  lack  of  de- 
votion to  scientific  investigation.  It  is,  of  course,  much  easier 
to  solve  the  problems  which  one  meets  by  taking  the  opinion 
of  those  who  have  had  experience  in  the  field.  No  one  would 
deny  the  value  of  the  judgment  of  our  great  educational  leaders. 
The  fact  remains,  however,  that  these  same  leaders  would  be 
the  last  ones  to  place  their  own  opinion  in  opposition  to  the 
results  obtained  from  a  careful  scientific  investigation.  In- 
deed, it  is  in  no  small  measure  due  to  the  insistence  of  these 
leaders  that  we  are  coming  to  have  adequate  investigations 
with  regard  to  our  educational  practice. 

It  has  seemed  necessary  to  discuss  at  some  length  the  ob- 
jections which  have  been  made  against  the  attempt  to  measure 
results  in  education,  rather  than  to  devote  more  space  to  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  work  which  has  already  been  done.    All  students 


252     A  Brief  Course  m  the   Teaching  Process 

of  education  are  familiar  with  the  early  work  of  Rice,  and  with 
the  later  contributions  of  Thorndike,  Ayres,  Cornman,  and 
many  others  who  have  contributed  to  the  literature  of  educa- 
tional investigation.  Possibly  the  most  significant  piece  of 
work  that  has  been  done  is  Thorndike's  scale  for  measuring 
handwriting.^  We  may  reasonably  hope  to  have  scales  de- 
rived for  the  measurement  of  abilities  in  other  subjects. 

In  administration,  considerable  work  has  already  been 
done  with  reference  to  the  cost  of  education,  both  as  regards 
the  relationship  of  expenditure  for  education  to  other  ex- 
penditures, the  question  of  a  proper  distribution  of  money 
within  the  educational  budget,  and  of  the  proper  distribution 
of  state  school  funds.^  We  can,  of  course,  hope  for  much  more 
significant  work  in  this  field  as  more  adqquate  systems  of 
accounting  are  introduced  and  more  satisfactory  reports  are 
issued.  It  is  noteworthy  that  in  those  school  systems  in 
which  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  check  up  expenditures 
carefully,  remarkable  savings  have  been  made.  We  have  not 
yet  reached  the  limit  of  possible  reduction  of  expenditure  with- 
out the  sacrifice  of  our  present  efficiency.  Much  work  has 
been  done  on  problems  of  school  organization,  yet  the  problems 
of  retardation  and  elimination  will  be  satisfactorily  treated 
only  as  we  secure  more  accurate  records  concerning  attendance, 
scholarship,  health,  promotions,  and  demotions,  such  as  are 
provided  for  by  the  genetic  records  now  kept  in  some  of  our 
more  progressive  school  systems.  The  problems  of  depart- 
mental work  and  individual  instruction  can  never  be  satis- 
factorily solved  until  we  measure  accurately  the  results 
secured  under  different  systems  of  organization. 

Implicit  in  all  of  the  argument  which  has  been  advanced  in 
favor  of  measuring  results  is  the  contention  that  education 
means  change.     If  changes  are  brought  about  in  the  children 

1  E.  L.  Thorndike,  "Handwriting,"  Teachers  College  Record,  Vol.  XI,  No.  2. 

2  Cubberley,  School  Funds  and  their  Apportionment;  Elliott,  Fiscal  Aspects 
of  Education;  Strayer,  City  School  Expenditures. 


Measuring  Results  in  Education  253 

who  are  being  educated,  then  there  must  be  the  possibility  of 
measurement.  These  changes  may  take  place  in  habit,  in 
knowledge,  in  methods  of  work,  in  interests  and  ideals,  and  in 
power  of  appreciation.  Probably  no  one  would  question  the 
possibility  of  m^easuring  the  change  which  takes  place  in  the 
formation  of  habits.  We  have  quite  commonly  been  willing 
to  measure  growth  in  knowledge  by  tests  which  demand  that 
students  not  only  remember  facts,  but  that  they  show  some 
ability  to  apply  them.  Whether  or  not  a  student  commands 
a  particular  method  of  work  can  be  determined  by  observa- 
tion of  his  method  of  procedure  as  well  as  by  the  results  that 
he  secures.  If  interests  or  ideals  are  changed,  there  necessarily 
follows  a  change  in  activity.  Any  real  power  of  appreciation 
will  be  accompanied  by  some  change  in  expression. 

The  fact  that  we  do  not  yet  have  scales  or  units  of  measure- 
ment which  will  enable  us  to  evaluate  accurately  the  results 
obtained  in  all  of  the  different  forms  of  school  activity  is  not 
an  argument  against  the  possibility  of  measurement.  In  any 
field  the  development  of  units  of  measurement  is  dependent 
upon  careful  investigation,  and  upon  a  realization  of  the  im- 
perfection of  the  units  already  used.  It  is  only  as  we  insist  upon 
measurement  that  we  can  hope  to  have  our  units  refined. 
Take  for  example  the  problem  of  grades  or  marks  which  are 
commonly  assigned  to  students  as  a  measure  of  their  efficiency 
in  doing  school  work.  Any  investigation  of  these  units  will 
show  that  there  is  very  great  variation  in  their  application  by 
different  members  of  the  teaching  corps. 

The  way  to  bring  about  a  remedy  is  not  to  abolish  all  marks 
or  grades,  but  rather  to  study  the  problem  of  the  proper  dis- 
tribution of  marks,  and,  if  necessary,  to  weigh  differently  the 
marks  of  different  instructors.  The  more  imperfect  the  unit 
of  measure  which  we  now  apply,  the  greater  the  need  for  in- 
sisting upon  accurate  measurement. 

The  first  step  in  the  development  of  scientific  inquiry  in  any 
field  is  found  in  accurate  description  of  the  phenomena  in- 


254     ^  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaclmig  Process 

volved.  The  demand  that  we  measure  results  in  education  is 
simply  a  demand  that  the  basis  for  scientific  investigation  be 
made  available  by  means  of  this  accurate  description  of  the 
situation  as  it  exists.  Some  investigators  in  education  have 
already  been  able  to  take  the  further  steps  in  scientific  inquiry 
which  have  enabled  them  to  foretell  with  considerable  accuracy 
the  results  which  might  be  expected  in  education  under  given 
conditions.  Further  progress  is,  however,  dependent  upon 
that  sort  of  measurement  which  will  discover  problems  which 
are  not  now  clearly  defined  or  which  have  not  yet  been  thought 
of.  Of  course,  as  inferences  are  made  in  the  light  of  the  prob- 
lems suggested,  there  will  be  still  further  necessity  for  accurate 
measurement.  When  those  who  are  charged  with  the  re- 
sponsibility of  determining  educational  policy  appeal  to  fact 
rather  than  to  opinion,  when  we  are  able  to  evaluate  accurately 
that  which  we  achieve,  educational  progress  will  be  assured 
and  a  profession  of  education  will  have  been  estabhshed. 

We  shall  always  have  most  excellent  work  in  teaching 
done  by  those  for  whom  scientific  investigation,  as  such,  means 
little.  The  investigations  made  will,  however,  modify  the 
practice  of  these  same  teachers  through  changed  demands  and 
because  of  the  demonstration  of  the  validity  of  the  new  method 
of  work  by  those  who  can  appreciate  the  significance  of  results 
achieved  by  investigators.  It  is  certainly  to  be  expected  that 
open-minded  teachers  will  experiment  for  themselves  and  will 
aid  in  the  work  of  the  expert  who  must  use  the  schools  as  his 
laboratory.  Much  depends  upon  the  cooperation  and  good 
will  of  all  who  are  engaged  in  teaching.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  expect  that  the  spirit  of  investigation  will  be  found  in  large 
measure  to  characterize  those  whose  privilege  it  is  to  provide 
the  situation  in  which  intellectual  development  is  stimulated. 

An  example  of  a  study  involving  the  cooperation  of  the  pupils, 
teachers,  and  supervisory  officers  of  twenty-six  separate  schools 
or  school  systems  is  Dr.  C.  W.  Stone's  study  on  Ariih- 
metical  Abilities  and  Some  of  the  Factors  Determining  them. 


Measuring  Results  in  Education  255 

The  following  quotations  from  Dr.  Stone's  study  indicate  the 
type  of  result  which  we  may  hope  to  get  from  such  investiga- 
tions. 

In  Reasoning 

The  scores  for  the  reasoning  problems  were  determined  from  the 
results  of  two  preliminary  tests  —  one,  giving  one  hundred  6th  grade 
pupils  all  the  time  they  needed  to  do  the  problems  as  well  as  they  could 
in  the  order  as  printed  (see  page  11) ;  and  another,  giving  one  hundred 
6th  grade  pupils  all  the  time  they  needed  to  do  the  problems  as  well  as 
they  could  in  the  reverse  order  from  that  as  printed.  The  results  as 
tabulated  below  in  table  II  show  that  scores  for  reasoning  problems  of 
Grade  VI  pupils  can  be  very  definitely  arranged  in  a  scale  on  the  basis 
of  relative  difficulty.  Just  what  the  scale  should  be  can  only  be  deter- 
mined by  determining  the  form  of  distribution  and  the  location  of  the 
zero  point.  From  what  is  known  of  these  the  scale  of  weighting  shown 
in  the  last  column  of  table  II  is  believed  to  be  the  best,  and  this  is  the 
one  employed  in  the  computations  of  this  study.  However,  in  order  to 
enable  the  reader  to  satisfy  himself  as  to  which  is  the  best  method,  the 
scores  of  the  twenty-six  systems  were  calculated  on  each  of  three  other 
bases  —  (i)   counting  each  problem  reasoned  correctly  a  score  of  i ; 

(2)  counting  each  problem  reasoned  correctly  a  score  based  on  the  ratio 
of  its  difficulty  as  shown  in  the  next  to  the  last  column  of  table  II ;  and 

(3)  counting  the  scores  made  on  only  the  first  six  problems  for  which 
presumably  all  pupils  of  all  systems  had  ample  time.  See  Appendix, 
p.  98. 

In  both  reasoning  and  fundamentals  the  scores  used  as  a  measure  of 
the  achievement  of  a  system  were  computed  by  combining  the  scores 
of  one  hundred  pupils.  Where  more  than  one  hundred  pupils  were 
tested,  the  papers  used  were  drawn  at  random,  the  number  drawn  from 
each  class  being  determined  by  the  ratio  of  its  number  to  the  total  num- 
ber tested  in  the  system.  Where  less  than  one  hundred  pupils  were 
tested,  the  combined  scores  made  were  raised  to  the  basis  of  one  hundred 
pupils. 


!56     A  Brief  Course  {71  the  Teaching  Process 


TABLE  II 
PRELIMINARY  TESTS 
Reasoning  —  Unlimited  Time 
100  Different  Pupils  Tested  Each  Time 


Number  of 
Problems 

%  Reasoned 
Correctly 
AS  Printed 

%  Reasoned 

Correctly 

AS  Reversed 

Average  % 
Reasoned 
Correctly 

Weight  Ac- 
cording TO 
Average  % 
Correct 

Weight  Used 

as  Probably 

the  Best 

I 

95 

92.6 

93-8 

I 

2 

86 

82.2 

84.1 

I.I 

3 

94 

89 

91-5 

I 

4 

80 

83 

81.5 

I-I5 

5 

88 

86 

87 

I.I 

6 

69 

57-4 

63.2 

1-5 

1.4 

7 

70 

80 

75 

1.25 

1.2 

8 

29 

44 

36.5 

2.6 

1.6 

9 

19 

15-5 

17.2 

5-45 

2 

10 

24 

27.4 

25-7 

3-6 

2 

II 

17 

7.5 

12.3 

7.6 

2 

12 

7 

16.4 

II. 7 

8 

2 

Precautions  observed  to  make  the  Scoring  Accurate 

The  simplicity  of  the  tests  made  the  scoring  comparatively  easy ;  and 
with  the  observance  of  the  following  precautions  it  is  believed  that  a 
high  degree  of  accuracy  was  attained,  (i)  In  so  far  as  practicable,  all 
the  papers  were  scored  by  a  single  judge  —  only  two  persons  being  em- 
ployed on  any  phase  of  the  work  for  the  entire  twenty-six  systems; 
(2)  each  problem  was  scored  through  one  hundred  or  more  papers,  then 
the  next  followed  through,  etc. ;  (3)  the  score  for  each  part  of  each 
problem,  the  errors,  etc.,  were  entered  on  a  blank  provided  with  a  sepa- 
rate column  for  each  item;  (4)  where  there  was  doubt  as  to  how  the 
score  should  be  made,  the  scorer  made  a  written  memorandum  of  how 
the  case  was  finally  decided  and  this  memorandum  served  as  the  guide 
for  all  future  similar  cases. 


Measuring  Results  in  Education  257 


What  the  Scores  Measure 

As  used  in  this  study  the  words  achievements,  products,  abilities, 
except  where  otherwise  quahfied,  must  necessarily  refer  to  the  results 
of  the  particular  tests  employed  in  this  investigation.  That  some  sys- 
tems may  achieve  other  and  possibly  quite  as  worth-while  results  from 
their  arithmetic  work  is  not  denied;  but  what  is  denied  is  that  any 
system  can  safely  fail  to  attain  good  results  in  the  work  covered  by 
these  particular  tests.  Whatever  else  the  arithmetic  work  may  pro- 
duce, it  seems  safe  to  say  that  by  the  end  of  the  sixth  school  year,  it 
should  result  in  at  least  good  ability  in  the  four  fundamental  operations 
and  the  simple,  everyday  kind  of  reasoning  called  for  in  these  problems. 
It  does  not  then  seem  unreasonable,  in  view  of  the  precautions  pre- 
viously enumerated,  to  claim  that  the  scores  made  by  the  respective 
systems  afford  a  reliable  measure  of  the  products  of  their  respective  pro- 
cedures in  arithmetic. 


The  Data 

The  source  of  the  data  used  to  help  answer  the  above  questions  is 
some  six  thousand  test  papers  gathered  from  twenty-six  representative 
school  systems.  Copies  of  the  tests  may  be  found  in  Part  I,  pages  10 
and  11;  as  may  also  a  statement  of  conditions  under  which  the  tests 
were  personally  given  by  the  author,  page  13 ;  and  the  method  of  scor- 
ing, pages  15  to  18. 

The  achievements  are  considered  from  two  standpoints  —  (i)  the 
scores  and  mistakes  of  the  systems  as  systems,  (2)  the  scores  of  individual 
pupils  as  individuals. 

Table  III  gives  the  scores  made  in  reasoning  by  each  of  the  twenty- 
six  systems,  counting  all  the  problems  that  were  solved,  and  weighting 
them  according  to  the  last  column  of  table  II.  The  Roman  numerals 
used  in  the  left-hand  column  to  designate  the  systems  are  those  that  fell 
to  each  system  by  lot.  As  seen  by  the  column  headed  scores  made,  the 
systems  are  arranged  according  to  number  of  scores,  i.e.  system  XXIII 
made  three  hundred  fifty-six  points,  the  lowest  score,  and  is  placed  first 
in  the  table ;  system  XXIV  made  four  hundred  twenty-nine  points,  and 
is  placed  second,  etc.  System  V,  having  made  the  highest  score,  is 
placed  last  in  the  table. 

The  middle  column  gives  the  deviations  from  the  median,  which  is 
that  measure  above  and  below  which  one  half  the  cases  lie.  In  this 
table  the  median  is  five  hundred  fifty-one.  These  deviations  serve  to 
s 


258     A  Brief  Course  in  the   Teaching  Process 

ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  SYSTEMS  AS   SYSTEMS 
Measured  by  Scores  Made 
TABLE  mi  TABLE  IV 


Scores  of  the  Twenty-six  Systems  in  Rea- 
soning WITH  Deviations  from  the  Median. 
Scores  from  all  Problems 
M2=5Si 

Scores  of  the  Twenty-six  Systems  in  Funda- 
mentals with  Deviations  from  the  Median. 
Scores  from  all  Problems 
M  =  3111 

Systems  in 

Order  of 

Achievement 

Scores 
Made  3 

Devia- 
tions 
from  the 
Median 

Devia- 
tions in 
Per  Cent 

of  the 
Median 

Systems  in 

Order  of 

Achievement 

Scores 
Made 

Devia- 
tions 
from  the 
Median 

Devia- 
tions in 
Per  Cent 
of  the 
Median 

XXIII 
XXIV 
XVII 

IV  . 
XXV 
XXII 
XVI 
XX 
XVIII 
XV 

III  . 

VIII 
VI   . 

I  . 

X  . 

II  . 

XXI 

XIII 

XIV 

IX  . 

VII 

XII 

XI  . 
XXVI 
XIX 

V  . 

356 

429 

444 

464 
464 
468 
469 
491 
509 

532 
533 
538 
550 
552 
601 

615 
627 
636 
661 
691 
734 
736 
759 
791 
848 
914 

-195 
—  122 
-107 
-87 
-87 
-83 
-82 
-60 
-42 
-19 
-18 

-13 

—  I 

I 

50 

64 

76 

85 
IIO 
140 
183 
185 
208 
240 
297 
363 

-35 

—  22 
-19 
-16 
-16 
-15 
-15 

—  II 

-8 
-3 
-3 

—  2 

—  2 
2 

9 
12 

14 
15 
19 
20 

33 
34 
38 
44 
54 
66 

XXIII 
XXV    . 

XX  . 
XXII  . 

VIII  . 

X  .     . 

XV  . 

Ill 

I  .  . 

XXI  . 

II  .   . 

XVII   . 

XIII  . 

VI  .     . 

XI  .     . 

IX  .     . 

XII  . 
XXIV 

XIV  . 

IV  .     . 

V  .     . 
XXVI 

XVI  . 
XVIII 

VII  . 
XIX     . 

I84I 
2167 
2168 

23II 

2747 
2749 
2779 

2845 

2935 
2951 
2958 
3042 
3049 
3173 
3261 

3404 
3410 
zsn 
3561 
3563 
3569 
3682 

3707 
3758 
3782 
4099 

—  1270 
-944 
-943 
-800 

-364 
-362 
-332 
-266 
-176 
-160 

-153 

-69 

-62 

62 

150 

293 

299 

402 

450 
452 
458 
571 
596 
647 
671 
988 

-41 
-30 
-30 
-26 

—  12 

—  12 

—  II 

-8 
-6 
-5 
-5 

—  2 

—  2 
2 
5 
9 

10 

13 
14 
14 
15 
18 

19 
21 
22 
31 

Footnotes  on  opposite  page. 


Measuring  Results  in  Education  259 

show  the  differences  in  scores  made;  and  they  are  also  employed  in 
computing  the  measures  of  variabiHty  and  relationship.  The  third 
column  is  the  deviations  in  per  cent  of  the  median.  It  affords  another 
expression  of  the  difference  in  size  of  scores  made  by  the  systems. 

Table  IV  reads  exactly  as  III,  the  scores  ^  being  those  made  on  all 
problems  of  the  test  in  fundamentals.  These  two  tables  give  some 
general  help  on  the  nature  of  the  product  of  the  first  six  years  of  arith- 
metic work.  One  very  evident  fact  is  the  lack  of  uniformity  among 
systems;  another  is  the  lack  of  correspondence  of  relative  position 
among  the  systems  in  the  two  tables.  With  the  exception  of  systems 
XXIII  and  XIV,  no  system  occupies  the  same  relative  position  in  the 
two  tables,  e.g.  system  XXIV  stands  second  from  the  lowest  in  reason- 
ing and  eighteenth  from  the  lowest  in  fundamentals.  This  fact  is  more 
accurately  summarized  in  the  coefhcients  of    correlation,   table  XV, 

P-  37. 

As  seen  from  its  heading,  table  XXII  gives  the  systems  in  order  of 
achievements.  These  serial  standings  are  derived  from  tables  III  and 
IV.  Reading  from  the  top,  system  XXIII  has  an  average  serial  stand- 
ing of  one,  being  lowest  in  both  reasoning  and  fundamentals;  system 
XXV  ranks  three  in  average  serial  standing,  being  jourth  from  lowest  in 
reasoning  and  second  from  lowest  in  fundamentals;  the  readings  for 
the  other  systems  are  similar. 

Tables  XXIII  and  XXIV  keep  the  same  order  of  systems  and  show 

^  In  proceeding  to  the  part  of  the  study  that  is  necessarily  largely  composed 
of  tables,  it  may  be  well  to  state  the  position  of  the  author  regarding  the  partial 
interpretations  offered  in  connection  with  the  tables.  It  is  that  the  entire 
tables  give  by  far  the  best  basis  for  conclusions;  that  for  a  thorough  compre- 
hension of  the  study  they  should  be  read  quite  as  fully  as  any  other  part ;  and 
that  they  should  be  regarded  as  the  most  important  source  of  information  rather 
than  the  brief  suggestive  readings  which  are  liable  to  give  erroneous  impres- 
sions, both  because  of  the  limitations  of  a  single  interpretation  and  the  lack  of 
space  for  anything  like  full  exposition. 

^  M  =  Median,  which  is  the  representation  of  central  tendency  used 
throughout  this  study.  It  has  the  advantages  over  the  average  of  being 
more  readily  found,  of  being  unambiguous,  and  of  giving  less  weight  to 
extreme  or  erroneous  cases. 

^For  reliability  of  measures  of  reasoning  ability,  see  Appendix,  p.  loo. 

^As  stated  in  Part  I,  p.  17,  a  score  is  arbitrarily  set  at  one.  The  fact  that 
the  zero  point  is  unknown  in  both  reasoning  and  fundamentals  makes  these 
scores  less  amenable  to  ordinary  handling  than  they  might  at  first  thought 
seem.  Hence,  entire  distributions  are  either  printed  or  placed  on  file  at  Teachers 
CoUege. 


26o     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 


TABLE  XXII 


TABLE  XXIII 


TABLE  XXIV 


COMPARATWE 

Achievements 

Comparative  Time 
Expenditure 

Time  Distribution  among  Grades 

•Sk 

Ji 

Lower  numbers  show  week  minutes 

Systems 

.2 

1-9 

1. 

■§1 

M  3 

1c 

II 

11 

0 

devoted  to  arithmetic  ;  upper  show 
%  of  school  time  devoted  to  arith- 

1  £ 
ll 

_  o 

.5  ■>-' 
E-ai2 

li 

metic  in  each  grade 

C^.S 

c^.S 

'^■l 

i^ll 

^-SS 

^'i 

I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

7 

6 

12 

15 

15 

15 

XXII    .     . 

I 

I 

I 

14 

I150 

9675 

12 

100 

100 

7 

200 
9 

250 
10 

250 

9 

250 
13 

XXV    .     . 

3 

4 

2 

2 

722 

8700 

8 

100 
8 

140 
8 

155 
8 

130 

7 

197 

II 

XXII    .     . 

4 

5 

4 

I 

507 

7200 

7 

7 

90 
10 

90 
12 

90 

14 

90 
IS 

147 

IS 

XX  .     .     . 

5 

7 

3 

15 

1161 

8200 

14 

80 
2 

113 

12 

210 
20 

240 
20 

265 
24 

253 
23 

XVII    .     . 

1\ 

3 

12 

21 

1283 

7500 

17 

27 
2 

158 
14 

250 
15 

258 
15 

300 
15 

290 
15 

VIII     .     . 

8 

II 

5 

i8 

1258 

9600 

13 

25 

233 
II 

250 
15 

250 
20 

250 
17 

250 
18 

XV  .    .    . 

8 

9 

7 

i6 

1173 

8025 

15 

10 

147 
9 

213 
II 

292 
II 

250 
12 

271 
16 

Ill  .  .  . 

9 

lO 

8 

6 

944 

8025 

12 

125 

125 

150 
14 

150 
17 

165 
17 

229 
17 

XXIV  .     . 

lO 

i8 

7 

950 

8775 

II 

7 

200 
12 

250 
12 

250 
14 

250 
18 

X     .    .     . 

lO 

14 

6 

5 

921 

8550 

II 

88 
9 

154 
13 

184 
14 

216 
14 

279 
15 

I .  .  .  . 

II 

13 

9 

' 

1068 

9375 

II 

28 

130 

20 

213 
20 

238 
24 

238 
20 

249 

IV    .     .     . 

12 

4 

20 

26 

1854 

8400 

22 

249 
8 

300 
12 

306 
14 

361 
14 

300 
15 

338 
16 

II    .  .  . 

13 

15 

II 

'' 

1247 

9900 

13 

121 

8 

192 
10 

217 
10 

"5 

12 

233 
14 

259 

13 

XXI      .     . 

13 

i6 

lO 

4 

86s 

7650 

II 

80 

100 
8 

100 
12 

180 
18 

210 
18 

195 
19 

VI    .     .     . 

13 

12 

14 

11 

1126 

9000 

13 

5 

127 
8 

177 
13 

266 

18 

266 

17 

290 
16 

XVI      .    . 

i4 

6 

23 

12 

1127 

9000 

13 

75 

113 
26 

187 
23 

263 
18 

251 
19 

238 

19 

XIII     .     . 

IS 

17 

13 

25 

1626 

8475 

19 

388 

350 

28S 

300 

300 

Measuring  Results 


til 


Education 


261 


Systems 


XVIII 
IX    . 
XI    . 
XIV 
XII 
XXVI 
VII  . 
V      . 
XIX 


Comparative 
Achievements 


<  in 


16 

i8i 
19 


i.S  c^.S 


Comparative  Time 
Expenditure 


la 


23-n 


g-o 


1265 

1559 
1130 
1560 
1 148 

837 
1573 

971 
1276 


.s  *^ 


8700 
9000 

8575 

8850 

8400 
7200 
7800 
8700 
9000 


o 


Time  Distribution  among  Grades 


Lower  numbers  show  week  minutes 
devoted  to  arithmetic  ;    upper  show 
%  of  school  time  devoted  to  arith- 
metic in  each  grade. 


I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

6 

5 

15 

20 

20 

75 

75 

225 

300 

300 

13 

15 

18 

18 

18 

200 

225 

275 

275 

275 

II 

15 

18 

18 

157 

216 

250 

250 

15 

16 

18 

19 

19 

225 

245 

270 

280 

270 

6 

18 

16 

19 

81 

226 

255 

288 

7 

10 

10 

13 

13 

80 

125 

125 

150 

150 

13 

19 

22 

22 

22 

175 

262 

300 

300 

300 

8 

10 

II 

12 

13 

113 

154 

167 

175 

183 

8 

10 

17 

17 

13 

125 

150 

250 

250 

250 

VI 

19 

290 

21 

309 

18 

257 

19 

270 

19 

298 

17 
207 

17 
236 

13 
179 

20 
301 


no  time  assigned. 


the  time  expenditure.  The  first  line  of  table  XXIII  reads,  —  system 
XXIII  ranks  fourteenth  from  the  lowest  in  time  expenditure,  with  11 50 
week  minutes  devoted  to  arithmetic,  9675  week  minutes  devoted  to  all 
subjects,  the  11 50  week  minutes  devoted  to  arithmetic  being  12  per 
cent  of  the  9675  week  minutes  devoted  to  all  subjects.  Similarly  for 
the  other  systems,  e.g.  system  XXV  with  a  serial  standing  in  abilities 
of  three,  and  a  serial  standing  in  time  expenditure  of  two,  spends  722 
week  minutes  on  arithmetic,  and  8700  week  minutes  on  all  subjects, 
arithmetic  costing  8  per  cent  of  all  the  school  time.  The  reader  will 
recognize  that  the  third  column,  which  gives  the  time  devoted  to  all  sub- 
jects for  one  week  of  each  of  the  first  six  years,  gives  the  only  new  data  of 
this  table,  column  two  being  the  same  as  given  in  table  XXI  and  the 
first  and  fourth  columns  being  derived  from  the  others. 


262     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

Probably  the  first  essential  shown  by  this  table  is  the  lack  of  corre^ 
spondence  between  the  serial  standing  in  time  cost  and  the  serial  stand- 
ing in  abilities ;  e.g.  the  system  with  the  lowest  time  cost  is  found  by 
referring  to  table  XIII  to  be  system  XXII,  which  is  seen  in  table  XXII 
to  rank  Uur  and  one-half  in  average  abilities.  Similarly,  the  system 
that  ranks  fifteenth  in  time  cost,  ranks  fifth  in  abilities,  etc.  Another 
noticeable  showing  is  the  wide  variability  in  the  school  time  of  the  systems. 
It  will  be  seen  to  vary  from  7200  to  9900  week  minutes.  This  time 
includes  recesses,  and  it  means  that  lengths  of  school  days  vary  from  an 
average  of  four  hours  to  five  and  one-half  hours.  And  if  the  names  of 
the  systems  were  given,  it  would  be  recognized  that  almost  invariably  the 
longer  school  hours  are  accompanied  by  the  least  amount  of  variation 
in  program,  such  as  physical  education,  field  trips,  assemblies,  etc.  Per- 
haps the  other  most  striking  fact  of  this  table  is  the  wide  variation  in 
the  per  cent  of  time  devoted  to  arithmetic.  It  varies  from  22  per  cent 
for  system  IV  to  7  per  cent  for  system  XXII,  a  difference  of  more  than 
three  to  one. 

As  table  XXIV  is  part  of  the  discussion  of  factors  in  time  expendi- 
ture, its  sample  readings  are  given  under  that  heading,  page  62. 

The  Relation  of  Time  Expenditure  to  Abilities  Produced 

The  reader  found  one  indication  of  the  relation,  or  lack  of  relation, 
between  time  cost  and  products  in  tables  XXII  and  XXIII.  Each  of 
the  three  following  tables  expresses  these  same  facts. 

TABLE  XXV 

Comparison  of  the  Achievements  of  the  Systems  having  Less  than 
Median  Time  Cost  with  those  having  More 


Combined  Scores  of  the  Thirteen  Systems 

With  less  than 

median  time 

cost 

With  wore  than 

median  time 

cost 

With/ess  than  Withmorethan 

median  time      median  time 

cost                    cost 

Including  home  study 

Without  home  study 

Reasoning 

Fundamentals 

7,519 
40,751 

7,893 
40,273 

7,277                8,135 
37,165             43,859 

The  above  details  are  compiled  from  the  scores  of  individual  systems 
as  given  in  tables  III  and  IV,  the  median  cost  being  that  given  in  table 


Measuring  Results  in  Education 


263 


TABLE  XXVI 
Ratio  of  Time  Expenditures  to  Abilities  * 


Systems 


IV  . 
XXIII 
XVII 
XIII 
XX  . 
XVIII 
XIV 
VIII 

IX  . 
XVI 
XV  . 
VII  . 
XXIV 

II  . 

VI     . 

I .   . 

III  . 

XII  . 
XXV 

X  . 

XI  . 
XIX 
XXI 

V  . 
XXII 
XXVI 


Average  Ratios 


Serial 
Standing 

of 
Systems 


I 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 
II 
12 
13 
14 
IS 
16 

17 
18 

19 
20 
21 

22 

23 
24 

25 
26 


Time  Cost 
to  Rea- 
soning 
and  to 
Funda- 
mentals 


2.26 

1.92 

i.6s 

I-S4 

1-45 

1.41 

1.40 

1-39 

1-353 

1-352 

1-31 

1.28 

1.24 

1.22 

1.20 

I-I5 
1.05 

0.943 
0.941 

0-93 

0.913 

0.91 

0.83 

0.67 

0.65 

0.64 


Reasoning  Ratios 


Serial 
Standing 

of 
Systems 


Time  Cost 

to 
Reasoning 


3-99 
3.22 
2.88 

2-55 
2.36 
2.48 
2.36 

2.33 
2.25 
2.40 
2.20 
2.14 
2.21 
2.02 
2.04 
1-93 
1-77 
1-55 
1-55 
1-53 
1.48 

1.50 
1-37 
1.06 
1.08 
1.05 


Fundamental 
Ratios 


Serial 
Standing 

of 
Systems 


4 

I 

7 
3 
2 

13 
6 

5 
5 

18 
8 

9 

21 

7 
II 
10 
16 
13 
15 
14 
12 

17 
19 
20 

23 
22 


Time  Cost 
to  Fun- 
damentals 


520 
624 
421 
533 
535 
336 
438 
457 
457 
304 
422 

415 
270 
421 
354 
363 
331 
336 
ZZl 
335 
346 
311 
293 
272 
219 
227 


^  For  the  data  from  which  these  calculations  were  made,  see  first  column 
of  table  XXI,  p.  52,  and  the  first  columns  of  tables  III  and  IV,  p.  21.  The 
absence  of  known  zero  points  makes  such  computations  inadvisable  except 
in  connection  with  the  more  reliable  evidence  of  the  preceding  table. 


264     A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process 

XXI.  As  measured  by  the  time  used  in  school,  the  thirteen  systems 
with  less  than  the  median  cost  stand  slightly  the  better ;  and  as  meas- 
ured by  the  time  including  home  study,  the  thirteen  systems  with  more 
than  the  median  time  cost  stand  somewhat  the  better.  The  time  used 
in  school  is  doubtless  the  more  exact  measure,  but,  as  shown  in  table 
XXI,  some  systems  depend  on  home  study  to  a  considerable  extent. 
Hence  both  measures  are  used.  The  lack  of  relation  indicated  in  this 
general  way  is  shown  more  accurately  in  the  table,  page  263,  in  terms 
of  coefficients  of  correlation. 

The  order  of  systems  in  this  table  is  determined  by  the  first  column, 
which  gives  the  average  serial  standing  as  determined  by  the  ratios  of 
time  to  products.  The  right-hand  column  under  each  heading  gives 
the  ratio  of  time  expenditure  to  abilities  produced,  and  the  left-hand 
column  gives  the  serial  order  of  that  system  as  measured  by  the  high- 
ness of  the  ratio,  i.e.  highness  of  cost  per  unit  of  product ;  e.g.  in  system 
IV  the  ratio  of  time  to  reasoning  is  3.99  (see  fourth  column),  the  highest 
ratio  in  reasoning  (determined  by  dividing  the  time  cost,  1854  week 
minutes,  by  464,  the  points  made  in  reasoning).  The  ratio  of  time  to 
fundamentals  in  this  system  is  .52 ;  giving  an  average  ratio  of  2.26. 
That  is  to  say,  the  ratio  of  time  to  abilities  in  system  IV  is  as  2.26  to  i, 
the  highest  among  the  twenty-six  systems. 

That  there  is  no  direct  ratio  between  time  expenditure  and  abilities 
is  again  shown  by  this  table.  For  example,  system  XXII,  which  spends 
the  least  amount  of  time  (see  table  XXI),  ranks  fourth  from  the  lowest 
in  abilities  (see  table  XXII),  ranks  25th,  that  is,  next  to  the  highest,  in 
ratio  of  time  cost  to  abilities  produced ;  and,  what  is  even  more  striking, 
system  XXVI,  which  spends  third  from  the  least  amount  of  time,  ranks 
third  from  the  highest  in  abiUties  and  26th  or  highest  in  the  ratio  of  time 
cost  to  abilities  produced. 

That  a  large  amount  of  time  expended  is  no  guarantee  of  a  high  stand- 
ard of  abilities  may  again  be  convincingly  seen  by  comparing  the  ratios 
of  the  five  systems  spending  the  smallest  amount  of  time  with  the  five 
spending  the  largest.  Of  the  five  spending  the  least  time,  the  average 
ratio  is  .80,  which  corresponds  with  the  23d  or  the  3d  from  the  best  in 
ratio ;  and  of  the  five  spending  the  greatest  amount  of  time,  the  average 
ratio  is  1.57,  which  corresponds  with  the  4th  poorest  in  ratio. 

The  last  three  tables  have  each  shown  the  decided  lack  of  relation- 
ship between  time  cost  and  abilities  produced,  and  hence  for  these 
systems  it  is  evident  that  there  is  practically  no  relation  between  time 
expenditure  and  arithmetical  abilities;  and,  in  view  of  the  representa- 
tive nature  of  these  twenty-six  systems,  it  is  probable  that  this  lack  of 
relationship  is  the  rule  the  country  over. 


Measuring  Results  iJi  Education  265 

This  is  not  to  say  that  a  certain  amount  of  time  is  not  essential  to  the 
production  of  arithmetical  abiUties;  nor  that,  given  the  same  other 
factors,  operating  equally  well,  the  product  will  not  increase  somewhat 
with  an  increased  time  expenditure.  What  is  claimed  is  that,  as  present 
practice  goes,  a  large  amount  of  time  spent  on  arithmetic  is  no  guarantee 
of  a  high  degree  of  efficiency.  If  one  were  to  choose  at  random  among 
the  schools  with  more  than  the  median  time  given  to  arithmetic,  the 
chances  are  about  equal  that  he  would  get  a  school  with  an  inferior 
product ;  and  conversely,  if  one  were  to  choose  among  the  schools  with 
less  than  the  median  time  cost,  the  chances  are  about  equal  that  he 
would  get  a  school  with  a  superior  product  in  arithmetic.^ 

So  far,  then,  as  ability  in  arithmetic  means  ability  to  handle  such 
foundation  work  as  is  measured  by  the  tests  in  this  study,  this  "essen- 
tial" has  not  necessarily  suffered  by  the  introduction  of  other  subjects 
and  the  consequent  reduction  of  its  time  allotment. 

One  would  need  to  read  the  whole  study  to  appreciate  fully 
the  nature  of  the  investigation.  From  the  pages  quoted,  how- 
ever, it  must  be  apparent  that :  (i)  schools  and  school  systems 
vary  greatly  in  the  results  which  they  secure  in  arithmetic ; 
(2)  the  excellence  of  the  work  done  is  not  directly  pro- 
portional to  the  time  expended.  We  will  find  it  necessary  to 
revise  our  opinions  with  regard  to  the  organization  of  school 
subjects,  the  allotment  of  time,  the  methods  of  teaching,  and 
the  like,  in  proportion  as  we  have  careful  investigation  in  these 
several  fields. 

For  Collateral  Reading 

E,  L.  Thorndike,  The  Principles  of  Teaching,  Chapter  XVI. 

1  And  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  author  that  the  chances  are  much  better  that 
one  would  get  a  school  with  a  superior  product  in  education. 


APPENDIX 

I.   THE  TEACHING  OF  ENGLISH  IN  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

By  Franklin  Thomas  Baker,  A.M. 

I.   Historical  View  of  the  Subject 

I.  The  Choice  of  Reading  Matter. 

1.  The  school  reader  an  expression  of  social  ideals. 

2.  German  primers  and  readers  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 

3.  The  "moral  tales"  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

4.  The  New  England  Primer. 

5.  The  oratorical  and  patriotic  selections  of  the  early  nineteenth  century. 

6.  The  school  readers  of  to-day ;   their  general  characteristics. 
2.  Method. 

1.  The  alphabetic  method  in  use  until  modern  times. 

2.  New  ideas  in  the  sixteenth  century  and  later.  Work  of  Ickelsamer, 
Basedow,  Pestalozzi,  Comenius,  and  Jacotot. 

3.  Gradual  ascendency  of  the  analytic  over  the  alphabetic  (or  synthetic) 
method. 

4.  Recognition  of  the  importance  of  phonetics,  of  association  of  ideas,  etc. 
References  :     Kehr,    Geschichte   des    Lese-Untcrrichts    in   der    Volksschule, 

Gotha,  1889.  Fechner,  Geschichte  des  Volksschullesehuches,  Gotha,  1889. 
Ford,  The  New  England  Primer,  New  York,  1897.  Reeder,  Historical  Develop- 
ment of  the  School  Reader,  New  York,  1900.  Hall,  How  to  Teach  Reading,  New 
York,  1886.  American  Journal  of  Education,  Vol.  V.,  Hartford  and  London, 
1858.  Russell,  German  Higher  Schools,  New  York,  1900.  Carpenter,  Baker, 
and  Scott,  The  Teaching  of  English,  New  York,  1903.  Huey,  Psychology  and 
Pedagogy  of  Reading,  New  York,  1908. 

II.   First  Steps  in  Instruction 

I.  Material. 

1.  Material  should  be  (i)  interesting,  (2)  literary,  so  far  as  possible,  (3) 
adapted  to  the  capacities  and  tastes  of  children,  (4)  of  enough  difficulty  and 
sufi5ciently  above  their  own  ordinary  thoughts  to  have  value  as  instruction. 

2.  The  best  material  (i)  folk  stuff,  such  as  the  classic  fairy  tales,  Mother 

267 


268  Appendix 


Goose,  etc.,  (2)  tales  of  heroism  and  sacrifice,  (3)  poetry  of  the  simpler  type, 
like  that  of  Stevenson  and  Christina  Rossetti. 

3.  Much  of  the  language  work  should  be  free  conversation  between  the 
teacher  and  the  children  about  their  ordinary  experiences. 

2.  Method. 

1.  During  the  first  years  much  of  the  literar}'  material  must  be  given  orally 
by  the  teacher.     Oral  work  is  to  be  held  of  great  importance. 

2.  Children  to  be  encouraged  to  commit  good  things  to  memory. 

3.  All  reading  aloud  by  the  pupils  to  be  done  as  naturally  as  possible.  Im- 
portance of  reading  by  phrases  and  sentences,  rather  than  word  by  word. 

4.  Value  of  the  dramatic  element  in  early  work. 

5.  The  conflict  between  the  "word  method"  and  the  "sentence  method" 
over.  Modem  teaching  eclectic  in  method.  If  any  name  can  be  given  to  the 
best  way,  it  might  be,  perhaps,  "thought  method." 

6.  Use  of  script  and  print :  advantages  of  each  as  a  first  form.  Value  of 
printed  cards  and  other  devices  for  drill. 

7.  Form  of  type  for  beginners'  books:  not  too  large;  letters  to  have  all 
difiierentiating  marks  distinct.  Importance  of  right  kind  of  paper,  width  of 
columns,  etc.     Kinds  of  pictures  most  serviceable. 

8.  When  shall  writing  begin  ?  In  general  not  to  be  forced  on  the  child  in 
the  first  year.  Arguments  for  and  against  this  arrangement.  Should  there  be 
any  fixed  standard  of  accomplishment  for  the  first  year  ? 

9.  Phonetic  drill.  How  many  words  must  be  known  before  it  begins? 
Various  plans  equally  successful.  The  main  thing,  perhaps,  is  to  have  drill 
enough  to  give  the  pupils  certainty  in  their  work,  but  to  keep  the  drill  subordi- 
nated to  their  interest  in  reading. 

10.  The  order  of  such  drill.  "Normal  words,"  chosen  for  their  meaning, 
their  frequency  of  occurrence,  and  their  similarity  in  form  to  other  words 
either  at  their  beginning  or  at  their  end.  Many  words,  however,  must  be 
learned  without  relation  to  such  a  scheme. 

11.  "Normal  sentences "  those  that  partially  help  the  reader  to  the  recognition 
of  words;  as,  "The  sun  rises  in  the  east,  and  sets  in  the  west."  For  young 
children,  sentences  involving  the  use  of  repetitive  phrases  must  also  be  regarded 
as  normal,  as  in  "The  House  that  Jack  Built." 

12.  In  general,  both  analysis  and  synthesis  to  be  used  in  word  drill. 

13.  Importance  of  securing  good  habits  as  to  intelligent  reading,  correct 
spelling,  etc.,  in  the  early  years.  Children  can  usually  do  better  than  they  or 
their  elders  think  they  can. 

14.  Emphasis  to  be  placed  upon  reading  many  of  the  good  things  over  and 
over,  until  they  are  known  in  whole  and  in  part. 

References  :  Bryant,  How  to  tell  Stories  to  Children.  Carpenter,  Baker,  and 
Scott,  The  Teaching  of  English.  Chubb,  The  Teaching  of  English.  Colby, 
Literature  in  Life  and  in  School.  Hall,  Hoiv  to  teach  Reading.  Hinsdale,  Teach- 
ing the  Language  Art.  Huey,  Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Reading.  Arnold, 
Reading,  How  to  teach  it.  Laurie,  Language  arui  Linguistic  Method.  Dewey, 
"  The  Primary  Education  Fetich,"  in  The  Forum,  May,  1898.  Dewey,  The  School 
and  Society.     Dye,  Story-Teller's  Art. 


Appendix  269 


m.    The  Teaching  of  Literature 

I.  General  Problems. 

1.  Can  literature  be  taught?    Or  can  pupils  "be  taught  through  literature"  ? 

Examples  of  such  educational  use  of  literature. 

2.  Present  aims  in  teaching  literature :  entertainment,  portrayal  of  life,  ac- 
quaintance with  the  world  of  thought  and  feeling  as  presented  in  books,  culti- 
vation of  imagination  and  sense  of  beauty. 

3.  True  interpretation  implies  grasping  the  central  purpose,  idea,  or  feeling  of 
the  piece. 

4.  Various  types  of  literature  demand  various  treatment.  Necessity  of  adapt- 
ing the  treatment  to  the  class. 

5.  Taste  (sense  of  beauty)  developed  mainly  by  contact  with  good  models. 
Instruction  plays  a  minor  part.  The  love  of  good  reading  fostered  by  judicious 
selection  of  material,  and  by  example  and  influence. 

6.  How  can  the  habit  of  good  reading  be  cultivated  ? 
2.  Material. 

1.  The  literature  chosen  must  be  suitable  in  its  themes,  its  action,  its  feeling, 
its  simplicity. 

2.  Literary  histories  and  biographies  :  their  limited  value  in  elementary  work. 

3.  Scientific  and  historical  material  in  literature.  Literary  use  of  such  ma- 
terial not  to  be  confounded  with  science  and  history. 

4.  Pictures  and  other  illustrative  material :  Sometimes  give  intuitive  basis 
for  desired  concepts;    sometimes  interfere  with  the  imagination. 

3.  Method. 

1.  Reading  aloud :  its  value.  Means  of  securing  good  results ;  interest,  sense 
of  reality,  consciousness  of  an  audience. 

2.  Analytic  study,  of  content,  form,  and  general  literary  effects. 

a.   Must  be  adapted  to  the  pupil's  interest  and  his  stage  of  development. 
h.  Must  yield  results  of  value  appreciable  by  the  pupil. 
c.    Effects  of  too  much  or  too  little  such  study. 

3.  Correlation  of  literature  with  other  work  possible  in  limited  degree.  A 
matter  of  class  treatment  rather  than  of  the  general  arrangement  of  the  course 
of  study.     A  problem  for  the  teacher  rather  than  the  principal. 

4.  Treatment  of  allusions,  historical,  literary,  etc.  The  need  of  judicious 
selection. 

5.  Treatment  of  figures  of  speech,  verse  forms,  new  words,  etc. 

6.  Lesson  plans :  their  function  and  value. 

a.   An  outline  should  control  and  direct  the  work,  yet  be  flexible  enough 

to  allow  freedom  on  the  part  of  teacher  and  pupil. 
h.    Introductions :  their  nature  and  function.     WHien  necessary. 
References.     Carpenter,  Baker,  and  Scott,  Laurie,  Chubb,  Hinsdale,  Ar- 
nold and  Hall,  as  cited.      Scudder,  Literature  in  Schools.     C.  A.  McMurry,  Spe- 
cial Method  in  Reading.     Bates,  Talks  on  the  Study  of  Literature.     Colby,  Litera- 
ture in  Life  and  in  School.    Adler,  Moral  Instruction  of  Children. 


270  Appendix 


IV.     Study  of  Certain  Typical  Books 

1.  Nursery  Rhymes  (as  Mother  Goose,  Stevenson's  Child'' s  Garden  of  Verses), 
a.   The  nature  of  their  appeal  to  children  in  sound,  imagery,  and  ideas. 

h.   Their  value  in  training  the  ear,  the  powers  of  speech,  etc. 

2.  Grimm's  "Fairy  Tales." 

a.  Their  source  and  relation  to  other  folklore. 

b.  The  marvelous,  and  its  effect  on  children. 

c.  Action,  logical  sequence,  local  color. 

d.  Various  types  of  myth. 

e.  The  ideal  element,  poetic  justice,  etc.    Need  the  harsher  elements  be 
omitted  ? 

/.    Typical  lessons. 

3.  "Alice  in  Wonderland." 

a.  Its  origin  and  its  place  in  literature. 

h.  The  nature  of  its  reality  :  based  upon  things  in  the  child's  world  of  imagi- 
nation. 

c.  Its  value  as  humor,  as  a  means  of  quickening  the  power  of  thought. 

d.  What  preparation  is  needed  for  the  appreciation  of  it  ? 

e.  Typical  lessons. 

4.  "Robinson  Crusoe." 

a.  Its  origin  and  place  in  literature. 

h.  Fundamental  characteristics  as  a  piece  of  fiction. 

c.  Elements  in  it  that  appeal  to  children,  or  fail  so  to  appeal. 

d.  Justification  of  the  abridged  editions. 

e.  Its  relation  (i)  to  the  world  of  romance,  (2)  to  real  life. 
/.  How  best  presented.     Typical  lessons. 

5.  Longfellow's  "Hiawatha." 
a.  Its  origin,  form,  popularity. 

h.  Its  qualities,  epic  and  romantic. 

c.  Its  treatment  of  the  myth. 

d.  Its  value  as  school  reading ;  parts  best  suited  for  this. 

e.  General  value  of  reading  about  primitive  life. 
/.  Relation  to  handwork,  etc. 

6.  Hawthorne's  "Wonder  Book"  and  "Tanglewood  Tales." 
a.  Their  origin  and  general  literary  qualities. 

h.    Romantic  coloring  given  to  classic  stories;    compare  Kingsley's  The  He- 
roes, and  Bulfinch's  Age  of  Fable,  and  other  versions  of  the  myths. 

c.  Different  types  of  myth  and  fairy  story  represented. 

d.  Artistic  qualities  of  Hawthorne's  versions ;  how  far  can  these  be  shown  in 
the  school? 

e.  The  ethical  element :  how  treated  ? 
/.    Typical  lessons. 

7.  Whittier's  "Snow  Bound." 

a.   Its  historical  value  as  a  presentation  of  a  type  of  civilization  :  occupation, 
pleasures,  interests,  types  of  character. 


Appendix  271 


h.   Its  literary  value  as  an  ideal  treatment  of  its  theme. 

c.  The  point  of  view  that  of  an  old  man's  retrospect.  How  far  is  this  appre- 
ciable by  children? 

d.  The  study  of  this  poem  involves  also  attention  to  structure,  diction,  allu- 
sions, poetic  descriptions,  and  metrical  form. 

e.  Typical  passages  treated  in  lessons. 

8.  Longfellow's  "Evangeline." 

a.   The  poet's  departure  from  historical  fact ;   its  justification. 
h.   The  idyllic  element ;   the  descriptions. 

c.  The  central  theme,  and  its  treatment  in  the  first  and  second  parts  of  the 
poem. 

d.  The  different  quality  of  the  two  parts ;  predominance  of  description  and 
the  meditative  element  in  the  second. 

e.  Metrical  structure. 

/.  What  things  in  the  poem  can  be  made  especially  interesting  to  young 
people  ? 

9.  Scott's  "Ivanhoe." 

a.  Its  free  treatment  of  historical  fact.  The  difference  between  historic  and 
poetic  truth. 

h.  The  historical  novel :  its  general  relations  to  history ;  to  be  regarded  pri- 
marily as  literature,  not  as  history. 

c.  The  portrayal  of  ideals  and  customs  of  a  past  age :  types  of  characters ; 
structure  (plot)  of  the  book  built  in  accordance  with  this  purpose. 

d.  Difficulties  of  language,  allusions,  etc. 

e.  Means  of  arousing  interest  in  romantic  literature.  Comparisons  with 
other  books  commonly  read  by  children. 

ID.   Shakspere's  "Julius  C^sar." 

a.   Historical  basis,  anachronisms,  etc. 

h.   The  nature  of  its  appeal  to  young  readers. 

c.  Treatment  of  verbal  difficulties  and  of  the  dramatic  form. 

d.  The  action,  the  characters,  the  dramatic  motives  and  situations. 

V.     Composition 

I.  Object  of  Teaching  Composition. 

1.  Shall  it  be  "literary,"  or  aim  merely  at  adequate  expression? 

2.  Elements  involved  in  the  Problem  :  Form  and  Subject  Matter. 

1.  Importance  of  subject  matter  in  giving  motive  and  interest,  and  in  deter- 
mining form. 

2.  Subjects  for  composition  to  include  topics  from  school  work  and  from 
daily  life :  to  be  made  real,  as  far  as  possible.  Reality  dependent  upon  interest 
and  the  consciousness  of  an  audience. 

3.  Preparation  for  the  work.  Importance  of  oral  treatment,  of  the  gathering 
and  ordering  of  facts  and  ideas.     Originality  not  to  be  expected. 

4.  Composition  units :  necessity  of  training  in  both  sentence  and  paragraph. 
Value  of  outUnes,  and  of  drill  in  sentences. 


272  Appe7idix 

5.    Criticism  of  written  work. 

a.   General  aims. 

h.   Means  of  making  criticism  efifective. 

c.    The  object  to  make  pupils  self-critical  without  checking  spontaneity. 
References  :   Laurie,  Hinsdale,  Chubb  and  Carpenter,  Baker  and  Scott  as 
cited  above. 

VI.     Grammar 

I.  Historical  Review. 

1.  Historical  changes  in  the  idea  of  English  grammar. 

2.  Attempt,  in  the  Renaissance  period,  to  Latinize  the  grammar  of  English. 
Persistence  of  this  point  of  view. 

3.  Recent  changes  due  to  philological  study. 

4.  What  now  constitutes  English  grammar  ? 

5.  What  problems  remain  unsolved  ? 
2.   Objects  of  Teaching  Grammar. 

1.  Various  theories :  for  correctness  of  expression  and  for  discipline. 

2.  Modern  notions  of  authority  in  usage,  and  of  the  province  of  grammar. 

3.  Amount  of  Grammar  to  be  Taught. 

1.  How  much  grammar  shall  be  taught  in  the  schools? 

2.  What  things  are  of  most  value  ? 

3.  Importance  of  syntax ;  of  study  of  forms. 

4.  The  Order  of  Treatment. 

1.  Syntax  of  etymology  first  ? 

2.  A  study  of  the  methods  of  development  adopted  by  some  of  the  represen- 
tative textbooks. 

References:  Laurie,  Hinsdale,  Carpenter,  Baker  and  Scott,  and  Chubb. 
Liddell,  "English  Historical  Grammar,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  Vol,  LXXXII.  Sweet, 
New  English  Grammar,  Part  II.  Barbour,  The  Teaching  of  English  Grammar; 
Goold  Brown,  Grammar  of  Grammars  (Introduction).  Krapp,  Syllabus  of  Eng- 
lish Language  and  Grammar  (Columbia  University  Extension  Syllabi,  Series  A, 
No.  5). 

11.    THE  TEACHING  OF  MATHEMATICS  IN  ELEMENTARY 
SCHOOLS 

By  David  Eugene  Smith,  LL.D. 

I.     The  History  of  the  Subject 

1.  Advantages  to  a  Teacher  in  Studying  the  History  of  the  Subject 
Taught. 

2.  The  Early  History  of  Arithmetic. 

3.  The  Growth  of  Number  Systems. 

4.  The  Development  of  Arithmetic  as  Known  at  Present. 


Appendix  273 

References  :  Smith,  The  Teaching  of  Arithmetic, '^tw  York,  1909,  chap.  i;and 
in  general  the  sections  in  this  syllabus  correspond  tothe  chapters  in  this  work. 
The  Teaching  of  Elementary  Mathematics,  New  York,  1900.  Ball,  A  Primer  of 
the  History  of  Mathematics,  London,  1895,  and  A  Short  Account  of  the  History  of 
Mathematics,  London,  4th  edition,  1908.  Fink,  History  of  Mathematics,  trans- 
lated by  Bennan  and  Smith,  Chicago,  1900.  Cajori,  History  of  Elementary 
Mathematics,  New  York,  1896,  and  History  of  Mathematics,  New  York,  1893. 
On  Greek  Arithmetic  see  Gow,  History  of  Greek  Mathematics,  Cambridge,  1884. 

II.   The  Reasons  for  Teaching  Arithmetic 

1.  The  Ancient  Point  of  View. 

2.  Content  of  the  Primitive  Logistic,  or  Art  of  Calculation. 
a.   Early  counting. 

h.   Early  writing  of  numbers.     The  development  of  notations. 
The  Influence  of  the  Hindu-Arabic  notation. 

3.  Content  of  the  Early  Arithmetic,  or  Theory  of  Numbers. 
a.   Connection  with  mysticism. 

h.  Contributions  of  Pythagoras  and  his  school. 

c.  The  effect  upon  modern  arithmetic. 

4.  The  Reasons  for  Teaching  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
a.  The  Church  schools. 

h.   The  reckoning  schools. 

c.    The  effect  upon  modern  arithmetic. 

5.  The  Reasons  Developed  by  the  Renaissance. 
a.   Influence  of  commerce. 

h.   Influence  of  printing.     The  crystallization  of  arithmetic. 
c.    The  effect  upon  the  subject  matter  of  modern  arithmetic. 

6.  The  Reasons  of  To-day. 

a.  The  practical  value.  Whatever  pretends  to  be  practical  in  arithmetic 
should  really  be  so. 

h.  The  question  of  "mental  discipline."  The  rise  of  this  doctrine.  The 
results  of  a  psychological  study  of  the  question.  The  tangible  part  of  "mental 
discipline." 

c.  The  interest  in  the  subject  for  its  own  sake.  The  game  element  of  mathe- 
matics. The  historical  development  of  the  science  of  arithmetic  from  the  prim- 
itive game. 

References  :  Smith,  The  Teaching  of  Arithmetic,  chap,  ii,  to  the  chapters 
of  which  no  further  reference  will  be  made,  this  syllabus  being  merely  a  synopsis 
of  that  work.  Teaching  of  Elementary  Mathematics,  pp.  1-70.  Young,  The 
Teaching  of  Mathematics,  New  York,  1907,  pp.  41-52,  202-256.  On  the  his- 
torical side,  consult  Fink,  History  of  Mathematics,  Chicago,  1898.  Ball,  Short 
History  of  Mathematics,  New  York,  1908.  Cajori,  History  of  Elementary  Mathe- 
matics, New  York.  Jackson,  The  Educational  Significance  of  Sixteenth  Cen- 
tury Arithmetic,  New  York,  1906.  Branford,  A  Study  of  Mathematical  Edtica- 
Hon,  Oxford,  1908. 


274  Appendix 


III.  What  Arithmetic  should  include  ' 

1.  From  the  Practical  Standpoint.  ■ 
a.  The  utilities  of  arithmetic  overrated.     A  detailed  consideration  of  the  I 

various  topics  usually  studied.  \ 
h.   The  effect  of  tradition  upon  the  matter  of  arithmetic. 

2.  From  the  Standpoint  of  Mental  Discipline.    Discipline  a  Matter 

OF  Method  rather  than  one  of  Topics.  i 

3.  From  the  Standpoint   of  Interest  in  the  Subject  for  its  Own  i 
Sake.  1 

References  :    Smith,  Teaching  of  Elementary  Mathematics,  p.  19.    Young,  | 
pp.  23-242. 

IV.   The  Nature  of  the  Problem  ! 

i 

1.  The    Great   Change  in    Recent   Years   brought  about  by  Two  j 

Causes.  j 

a.  The  study  of  social  needs.  \ 

h.   The  study  of  child  psychology.  ! 

2.  The  Peculiar  Needs  of  America.    The  Bearing  of  these  Needs  | 
UPON  THE  Teaching  of  Arithmetic.  j 

3.  Child  Psychology  and  the  Problems  still  Awaiting  Solution.  j 
References:    Smith,  Teaching  of  Elementary  Mathematics,  p.  21.     Young,  \ 

pp.  97-103,  210-218.     Saxelby,  Practical  Mathematics,  and  similar  works.  J 


V.   The  Arrangement  of  Material 

1.  Recent  Changes  brought  about  from  a  Consideration  of  Child 
Psychology. 

2.  The  Growth  of  the  Textbook. 

a.  The  Treviso  arithmetic  of  1478,  and  the  early  arithmetics  of  Italy,  Ger- 
many, France,  England,  and  Holland. 

h.  The  two-book  series. 

c.  The  three-book  series. 

d.  The  extreme  spiral  arrangement. 

3.  The  Modern  Curriculum  in  Arithmetic. 
a.  Its  origin. 

h.   Its  present  status. 
c.    Improvements  to  be  considered. 
References:  Young,  pp.  178-188. 


VI.  Method 
I.  The  Meaning  of  Method. 


Appendix  275 


2.  How  THE  Ancients  probably  taught  Calculation. 
a.   Various  forms  of  the  abacus. 

h.   The  abacus  at  the  time  of  the  Renaissance. 

c.    The    effect    upon    arithmetic    of     abandoning    the   abacus   in    western 
Europe. 

3.  Causes  of  the  Rise  of  the  Rule. 

4.  Revival  of  Objective  Teaching. 

Trapp  (1780),  von  Busse  (1786),  and  Pestalozzi  (about  1800). 

5.  The  Early  Followers  of  Pestalozzi. 
TiUich  (1806),  Krancke  (1819),  Grube  (1842). 

6.  Types  of  Later  Methods. 
a.   Counting. 

h.   Ratio. 

c.  Extreme  spiral. 

d.  Pure  concrete  work  as  a  basis. 

e.  Pure  abstract  work  as  a  basis. 

7.  The  Ease  and  Futility  of  Creating  Narrow  Methods. 
References  :     Smith,    Teaching    of   Elementary    Mathematics,    pp.    71-97. 

Seeley,  Grube's  Method  of  Teaching  Arithmetic,  New  York,  1888.  Soldan, 
Grube's  Method  of  Teaching  Arithmetic,  Chicago,  1878.  C.  A.  McMurry, 
Special  Method  in  Arithmetic,  New  York,  1905.  McLellan  and  Dewey,  The 
Psychology  of  Number,  New  York,  1895.     Young,  pp.  53-150. 


VII.     Mental  or  Oral  Arithmetic 

1.  Historical  Status  of  Oral  Arithmetic.  1 

2.  Revival  under   Pestalozzi's   Influence.    The   Work  of   Warren 
Colburn  in  this  Country.  ; 

3.  Causes  of  the  Decline  of  this  Form  of  Work. 

4.  The  Claims  of  Oral  Arithmetic  upon  the    School  To-day.    The  \ 
Practical  and  Psychological  Views  of  the  Problem.  ■ 

5.  The  Nature  of  the  Oral  Work,  —  Abstract  and  Concrete.  , 

6.  The  Time  to  be  allowed  to  the  Subject.  j 
References:    Smith,  Teaching  of  Elementary  Mathematics,  p.  117.    Hand-  ] 

book  to  Arithmetics,  p.  6.     Young,  p.  230.  j 


VIII.     Written  Arithmetic 

1.  What  should  be  the  Nature  of  the  Written  Arithmetic? 

2.  Object  of  the  Business  Form  of  Solution. 

3.  Object  of  Written  Analysis, 

4.  Necessity  of  Recognizing  Two  Kinds  of  Written  Work. 

5.  How  TO  Mark  Papers. 

References  :  Smith,  Teaching  of  Elementary  Mathematics y  pp.  1 21-129. 


276  Appendix 


IX.     Children's  Analyses 

1.  The  Object  in  Requiring  Analyses. 

2.  What  should  be  expected  of  Children  in  this  Respect  ? 

3.  Explanations  of  Fundamental  Operations.    Relation  to  the  For- 
mal Rule. 

4.  Explanation  of  Applied  Problems. 

5.  Relation  to  the  Work  in  English. 

6.  The  Limit  of  Primary  Work,  "Two-step  Reasoning." 
References  :  Smith,  Handbook  to  Arithmetics,  p.  9.    Young,  p.  205. 


X.     Interest  and  Effort 

1.  Status  of  Arithmetic  from  the  Standpoint  of  Interest. 

2.  Danger  of  Overemphasis  upon  Interest. 

3.  Lessening  of  Interest  with  the  Lessening  of  Effort. 

4.  Safe  Basis  for  Increase  of  Interest. 

5.  Effect  of  a  Genuine,  Spontaneous  Interest  upon  Increase  of  Effort 
and  of  Power. 


XI.     Improvements  in  the  Technique  of  Arithmetic 

1.  History  of  the  Improvement  in  Symbolism. 

2.  How  THE  Present  seeks  to  carry  on  this  Improvement. 
a.  The  difficulties  that  are  met. 

h.  Dangers  of  too  much  symbolism. 

c.  The  proper  criterion  for  selection. 

3.  The  Equation  in  Arithmetic. 
a.  Object. 

h.  Dangers  to  be  avoided. 

4.  The  Process  of  Subtraction  as  a  Type. 

a.  The  various  historical  methods  considered. 

b.  The  criterion  for  a  selection. 

c.  The  claims  of  the  various  processes  to-day. 

5.  The  Process  of  Division  as  a  Type. 

a.  The  history  of  division. 

b.  Present  points  at  issue. 

c.  The  probable  future. 

6.  Proportion  as  a  Type. 

a.  History  of  proportion  and  the  "Rule  of  Three." 

b.  Present  symbolism  and  status. 

c.  Probable  future  of  the  subject. 

7.  Future  Problems  Relating  to  Technique. 


Appendix  277 


XII.     Certain  Great  Principles  of  Teaching  Arithmetic 
A  summary  of  the  larger  principles  for  the  guidance  of  teachers. 

XIII.     General  Subjects  for  Experiment 

1.  The  Use  of  Games. 

2.  Chief  Interests  of  Children. 

3.  Results  OF  Emphasizing  : 
a.  The  abstract  problem. 

h.  The  concrete  problem. 

4.  Amount  of  Time  to  be  assigned  to  Arithmetic. 

5.  Relative  Amount  of  Time  to  be  devoted  to  : 
a.  Oral  arithmetic. 

6.  Written  arithmetic. 

6.  The  Best  Basis  of  Arrangement  of  an  Arithmetic. 

XIV.     Details  for  Experiment 

Professor  Suzzallo's  list  of  details  as  set  forth  in  The  Teachers  College 
Record,  January,  1909,  p.  43,  and  in  Smith,  The  Teaching  of  Arithmetic,  ch.3i^. 
xiv. 

XV.     The  Work  of  the  First  School  Year 

1.  Arguments  for  and  against  no  Formal  Arithmetic  in  this  Year. 

2.  The  Leading  Mathematical  Features  for  the  Year. 

3.  The  Number  Space  of  the  Year. 

a.  For  counting. 

b.  For  operations. 

4.  The  Work  to  be  accomplished  in  Addition. 

5.  The  Work  in  the  Other  Operations. 

6.  The  Fraction  Concepts  to  be  considered. 

a.  Part  of  an  object. 

b.  Part  of  a  group. 

c.  The  idea  of  "half  as  much." 

7.  Denominate  Numbers. 

8.  The  Question  of  the  Use  of  Objects. 

9.  Symbolic  Work  and  Technical  Expressions. 

10.  Nature  of  the  Problems  of  this  Year. 

11.  The  Time  Limit  upon  Work. 

References  :  Smith,  The  Teaching  of  Elementary  Mathematics,  p.  99.  Hand- 
hook  to  Arithmetics,  p.  11.     C.  A.  McMurry,  Special  Method  in  Arithmetic. 


278  Appe^idix 


XVI.  The  Work  of  the  Second  School  Year  ■ 

1 

1.  The  Leading  Mathematical  Features.  ■ 

2.  Number  Space  for  the  Year.  '■ 

3.  Counting.  i 
a.  The  origin  of  the  "counting  method."  ; 
h.  The  extremes  to  which  it  may  be  carried.  \ 
c.  The  proper  use  of  counting  in  teaching.  ! 

4.  The  Addition  Table.     Relation  to  Counting.  ' 

5.  The  Method  of  Treating  Subtraction  revlewed.  ! 

6.  The  Multiplication  Table.  ^ 
a.  Arguments  for  and  against  learning  tables.  : 
h.  Extent  of  the  work  for  this  year.  i 
c.  Relation  to  counting.                                                                                             \ 

7.  Division. 

a.  Relation  to  multiplication. 

h.  Arrangement  of  work  in  short  division.  \ 

8.  Fractions.  \ 
a.  Extent  of  the  work. 

h.  Nature  of  the  objective  work.  ! 

9.  Denominate  Numbers.  i 
a.  Extent  of  the  work.  j 
h.  Use  of  the  measures.     Visuahzing  the  great  basal  units.                                  ! 

10.  Nature  of  the  Symbols  to  be  considered. 

11.  Nature  of  the  Problem  Work.  | 

a.  Abstract.  ] 

b.  Concrete.  \ 

\ 

XVII.  The  Work  of  the  Third  School  Year  \ 

1.  Peculiar  Necessity  for  Preparation  for  this  Year's  Work.  j 

2.  Leading  Mathematical  Features.  i 

a.  Beginning  of  rapid  written  work.  \ 

b.  Multiplication  table  completed.  ; 

c.  Most  important  tables  of  denominate  numbers.  I 

d.  Work  extended  to  two-figure  multipliers  and  the  beginning  of  long  division.        ] 

3.  Number  Space  may  extent)  to  100,000.  I 

4.  The  Roman  Numerals.  j 

a.  Extent  to  which  this  work  should  be  carried  in  various  school  years.  1 

b.  Historical  sketch  of  the  system  and  of  its  uses.  1 

5.  The  Counting  Method  further  considered.     Its  Values  and  its        ; 
Dangers.  , 

6.  The  Writing  of  Untted  States  Money.    Operations.  ] 

7.  Square  and  Cubic  Measure.  ; 

a.  Extent.  | 

b.  Nature  of  objective  work.  \ 


Appendix  279 


8.  Suggestions  as  to  Four  Operations. 

a.  Addition.     Practical  value  of  checks  on  all  operations. 
h.    Subtraction,  as  discussed  in  section  XI. 

c.  Multiplication.     Should  the  tables  extend  to  12x12?     Devices. 

d.  Division.     Algorism  considered  historically  and  practically. 

e.  Historical  note  as  to  the  number  of  operations. 

9.  Extent  of  Work  with  Fractions. 
10.   Nature  of  the  Problems. 

References  :    Smith,  Teaching  of  Arithmetic,  chap,  xvii,  p.  73.    Handbook  j 

to  Arithmetics^  p.  29.  j 

•\ 
XVIII.     The  Work  of  the  Fourth  School  Year 

1.  Leading  Mathematical  Features.  j 

2.  Number  Space.  i 

3.  The  Four  Operations. 

a.  Nature  of  the  oral  work.  \ 

h.  Criteria  for  judging  written  work. 

c.  Speed  versus  accuracy.  ' 

4.  Nature  of  the  Work  in  Common  Fractions. 

a.   Historical  sketch  of  various  fractions.  ' 

h.    Change  in  the  practical  uses  of  common  fractions.  ' 

5.  Denominate  Numbers.  | 

a.  What  tables  are  of  value  ?     Historical  sketch  of  tables.  | 

b.  Visualizing  the  basal  units. 

c.  Accuracy  in  reduction.  ■  .; 

6.  Nature  of  the  Problems. 

References  :   Smith,  Handbook  to  Arithmetics,  p.  43. 

XIX.    The  Work  of  the  Fifth  School  Year  j 

\ 

1.  Leading  Mathematical  Features.  i 

2.  Necessity  for  and  Nature  of  Preliminary  Review.  \ 

3.  Number  Space.    Modern  Tendencies  in  Using  Large  Numbers.  i 

4.  Nature  of  the  Review  of  the  Four  Operations.  j 

a.  Suggestions  for  rapid  addition  and  subtraction.  ;! 

b.  Checks  on  multiplication  and  division.  j 

c.  Twofold  nature  of  division.  | 

5.  Common  Fractions.  \ 

a.  Nature  of  the  theoretical  explanations.  ( 

b.  What  should  be  expected  of  children  in  this  regard.  \ 

6.  Denominate  Numbers.  \ 

a.  Extent  of  reductions. 

b.  Nature  of  the  operations. 

7.  How  TO  SOLVE  Problems.  \ 

8.  Introduction  to  Percentage.  i 


28o  Appendix 

9.  Nature  of  the  Problems. 

References  :   Smith,  Raiidbook  to  Arithmetics^  p.  53. 

XX.     The  Work  of  the  Sixth  School  Year 

1.  Leading  Mathematical  Features. 

2.  The  General  Solution  of  Problems. 
a.   How  the  world  has  solved  problems. 
h.    Modern  improvements. 

3.  Percentage. 
a.   Nature  of  the  subject. 
h.   History  of  the  subject. 

c.  Suggestions  for  treatment. 

d.  The  most  important  applications. 

4.  Ratio  and  Proportion. 
a.  History. 
h.  Present  value,  and  probable  future  status. 

5.  Nature  of  the  Problems. 

XXI.    The  Work  of  the  Seventh  School  Year 

1.  Leading  Mathematical  Features. 

2.  Review  of  our  Numbers.     Historical  Notes. 

3.  Review  of  the  Fundamental  Operations. 

4.  Types  of  Subjects  Treated. 
a.  Longitude  and  time.     Origin,  value,  new  features. 
h.   Percentage.     What  cases  are  the  most  important  ? 

5.  Introduction  of  Algebraic  Work  considered.    Nature  of  Men-         j 

SURATION.  i 

6.  Nature  of  the  Problems.  ' 

•  XXIL    The  Work  of  the  Eighth  School  Year  1 

1.  Leading  Mathematical  Features.  ' 

2.  Nature  of  the  Business  Applications. 
a.  Banking.     Extent  to  which  the  work  should  be  carried. 
6.  Partial  payments.     Historical  view  of  the  value  of  the  subject. 

c.  Partnership.     Value  of  the  historical  view. 

d.  Simple  accounts. 

e.  Exchange.     Wherein  its  value  lies. 
/.    Taxes.     Insurance. 
g.    Corporations.     Arguments  for  and  against  the  study  of  investments. 

3.  The  Metric  System.  | 

a.  Why  taught.     Historical  view.  \ 

b.  Extent  of  the  work.  3 

c.  Practical  suggestions  in  teaching.  ] 


Appendix  281 


4.  Powers  and  Roots. 
a.  Historical  view. 

6.  Present  values.     Extent  of  the  work. 

5.  Mensuration. 

a.  Extent  to  which  it  should  be  carried. 

h.  Geometry  in  the  eighth  year. 

c.  The  formula. 

6.  Algebra  in  the  Eighth  Year. 
a.  Historical  view.     Present  values. 

6.  Extent  to  which  it  should  be  carried. 

7.  Nature  of  the  Problem. 

8.  A  Comparison  of  American  and  Foreign  Schools. 


in.    THE   TEACHING   OF    GEOGRAPHY.  ; 

By  Richard  Elwood  Dodge,  A.M.  I 

I.     The  Scope  and  Purpose  of  School  Geography  1 

j 

1.  School  Geography  a  Part  of  Science  of  Geography.  j 
Relation  of  elementary  school  work  to  that  in  secondary  school  and  college. 

2.  Definition  of  Geography. 
Meaning  of  this  and  growth  of  idea. 

A.  "Study  of  earth  in  its  relation  to ///"c."  I 

B.  The  emphasis  of  "  causal  notion  "  in  school  geography.  , 
Rational  geography.  j 

3.  Scope  of  School  Geography.  I 

A.  Possible  scope  as  wide  as  the  subject.  , 
Complexity  of  subject.  J 

B.  Practical  scope  determined  by  abilities  and  needs  of  children,  and  by  ] 
necessary  sequence  of  steps  in  geography  study.  \ 

C.  Consequent  diflficulties  for  school  teachers,  even  in  earlier  years.  | 

4.  School  Geography  must  be  :  I 

A.  Unit  in  each  part  and  as  a  whole.  i 
Practical  reasons  for  unity.  •■ 

B.  Usable  at  every  step. 
Importance  of  this  in  early  grades. 

C.  Closely  related  to  nature  work  on  one  hand,  and  secondary  work  on  the  : 
other.  : 

D.  Based  on  children's  experiences  and  earlier  knowledge. 

5.  Purpose  of  School  Geography  Teaching:  ■ 
A.   To  teach  children  geography.     Interpretation  of  this.  i 

Relation  of  subject  to  children.     Approach  to  adults'  point  of  view.  j 

a.  Knowledge  of  principles  of  geography.  ] 

b.  Knowledge  of  facts  that  make  principles  clear.  | 

'f 

( 

■\ 


282  Appendix 


c.    Knowledge  of  facts  necessary  for  daily  life. 
Other  facts  that  must  be  included, 
B.   Power. 

a.   To  use  materials  and  results  gained  in  classroom  and  elsewhere. 
h.    To  seek  out,  organize  and  use  new  materials. 

This  suggests  method  of  conducting  a  portion  of  class  work. 
c.    To  think  accurately  and  clearly. 

Importance  of  geography  as  a  means  of  training  in  scientific  thinking. 
References:  Dodge,  R.  E.,  The  Teaching  of  Geography,  to  which  no  fur- 
ther references  will  be  made,  this  syllabus  being  a  synopsis  of  that  work.  Teachers 
College  Record,  March,  1901,  pp.  3-9.  Journal  of  Geography,  November  and 
December,  1904;  April,  1905;  September,  1906.  McMurry,  C.  A.,  Special 
Method  in  Geography,  chap.  i.     Geikie,  A.,  The  Teaching  of  Geography,  chap.  i. 


n.    The  Persons  involved  in  School  Geography  Teaching 

1.  The  Duties  of  the  Scientific  Geographer. 

A.  Should  help  make  content  sound  geographically. 
He  should  be  source  of  geography  materials. 

B.  Should  ascertain  that  work  will  insure  good  training  in  elements  of 
geography. 

Adapted  to  pupils  and  valuable  as  foundation  for  good  later  work. 
C    Should  outline  method  in  large  so  as  to  produce  geographic  progress, 
D.   Should  assist  in  substituting  good  for  bad  details  and  help  choose  be- 
tween essentials  and  non-essentials. 

2.  The  Obligations  of  the  Supervisor  or  Superintendent. 

A .  Must  recognize  goal  to  be  reached  from  standpoint  of  good  geography, 
and  relations  of  school  geography  to  other  phases  of  geographic  education. 

B.  Should  accept  materials  and  larger  plan  of  geographer. 
Arrange  time  of  schedule. 

C.  Should  see  that  children's  general  training  is  not  sacrificed  and  special 
training  is  secured. 

D.  Should  insure  that  work  is  practical  and  usable. 

E.  iSIust  see  that  relations  to  other  subjects  are  emphasized. 
Causal  notion  again. 

3.  The  Obligations  and  Opportunities  of  the  Teacher. 

A.  Must  know  more  subject  matter  than  he  expects  to  give  pupils. 

B.  Must  know  purposes  and  scope  of  course  —  his  part  in  course  as  a  whole. 
Also  must  know  preparation  furnished  by  earlier  year's  work. 

C.  Must  know  relations  to  other  work  in  the  curriculum  as  a  whole  and  in 
geography  particularly. 

D.  Must  know  ways  subject  must  be  organized  and  presented  to  his  grade 
so  as  best  to  gain  aims  desired. 

General  and  special  method. 

4.  The  Position  of  Children  in  Reference  to  Work. 


Appendix  283 

A.  Meaning  of  "To  teach  children  geography." 

B.  The  preparation  that  may  be  expected  in  different  grades. 

C.  Children's  interest  in  work. 

D.  Pupils  must  be  trained  to  work  and  think. 

E.  Goals  are  knowledge  and  power.     Importance  of  rational  repetition, 
of  reviews  and  map  work. 

Reference  :    Dodge,  Journal  of  Geography,  v,  p.  385.     The  Opportunity  of 
the  Geographer  in  Promoting  School  Geography. 


III.     The  Organization  of  a  Course  of  Study 

1.  CounsE  AS  A  Whole. 

A.  Must  be  capable  of  being  judged  as  good  by  geographers. 

B.  Must  lead  to  knowledge  and  power. 

C    Must  be  arranged  so  as  to  lead  from  known  to  unknown  along  lines  of 
least  resistance  but  not  least  effort. 
D.  Method  of  approach  of  mature  mind  must  not  always  be  followed. 

2.  Some  Fundamental  Considerations. 

A.  No  one  course  available  for  all  localities. 

B.  Course  should  start  with  home  geography. 

C.  Should  lead  next  to  elementary  knowledge  of  world  whole. 

D.  The  emphasis  to  be  given  to  continental  work. 
Division  of  work  by  grades. 

E.  Disadvantages  of  teaching  all  continents  twice. 

The  following  compromise  is  suggested  as  in  general  workable : 

a.  Twice :  North  America,  United  States,  Europe,  and  perhaps  portions 

of  Asia. 
i.   Once :  Asia,  Africa,  Australia,  and  South  America. 
Present  importance  of  South  America. 

F.  Plan  of  intermediate  work  should  differ  from  plan  of  upper  grades. 
"Concentric  Circles." 

G.  The  place  of  physical  geography  in  the  course  of  study : 
a.   Home  geography  :  observational  side. 

Danger  of  overemphasis,  of  giving  wrong  outlook. 
h.   Intermediate  grades :  give  setting  to  life  side. 

Larger  facts  only. 
c.    Upper  grade  :  basis  of  work. 

Not  to  be  taught  as  a  topic  by  itself  but  as  a  mea,ns  to  an  end. 
H.   Emphasis  of  industries  and  commercial  side. 

/.   "Following  interests  of    children,"  —  best  meaning    of  phrase.    Value 
and  dangers. 

Recent  interest  in  industrial  education  places  a  renewed  obligation  on 

geography  to  be  practical  and  to  be  free  from  fads. 
Developing  interest.    Temporary  and  permanent  interests. 


284  Appendix 


References:  Teachers  College  Record,  March,  1901,  pp.  9-15.  McMurry, 
C.  A.,  Special  Method  in  Geography,  chap.  ii.  Redway,  J.  W.,  New  Basis  of 
Geography,  chap.  x.  Bagley,  W.  C,  Function  of  Geography  in  Elementary 
Schools,  Journal  of  Geography,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  222.  Dodge,  Richard  E.,  "  Some  Sug- 
gestions Concerning  a  Course  of  Study  in  Geography,"  Journal  of  Geography ^ 
vii,  pp.  7-14. 

IV.     Home  Geography  and  World  Whole 

1.  Certain  General  Considerations. 

A .  Home  geography  not  a  subject  or  a  division  of  geography,  but  a  method 
of  approach  to  field  as  a  whole,  —  cannot  have  a  uniform  course  for  all  places. 

B.  Method  of  procedure  must  be  from  known  to  unknown  through  analysis 
of  experiences  of  pupils. 

C.  Work  should  not  call  for  knowledge  of  distant  places. 

D.  Lessons  should  become  more  intensive  and  scope  more  extensive. 

E.  Topics  should  be  taken  up  in  definite  sequence  so  far  as  possible. 

F.  Definitions,  if  any,  to  be  summaries  at  close  of  developed  points  and  not 
points  of  departure. 

G.  Units  developed  to  be  good  geography  units  which  may  be  used  as  basis 
for  comparison  over  world.  Heat,  storms,  woods,  for  instance,  are  not  good 
units.     Crossroads  or  city  corners  good  units. 

H.  Local  histor}'  to  be  brought  in  as  much  as  possible. 

Should  be  intimately  related  to  geography  and  may  often  be  point  of 
departure. 
/.    Importance  of  observation  of  local  conditions. 

Reasons  for  giving  a  certain  place  to  processes  of  earth  change. 

2.  Topics  in  Home  Geography. 

A.  Social : 

a.   Simple  life  groups  and  relations. 

(i)  Home,  village,  city,  etc.  (2)  Need'^  and  means  of  communication. 
(3)  Need  for  government.  Form  not  to  be  included.  (4)  Rea- 
sons for  trade.  Simple  illustrations.  (5)  Industrial  features. 
(6)  Universality  of  similar  features  over  world. 

B,  Earth: 

a.  Forms  of  landscape  as  related  to  life. 

b.  Forms  of  drainage  as  related  to  life. 

c.  Soils  and  their  use.     Classification  a  minor  matter. 

d.  Simpler  atmospheric  phenomena. 

e.  Direction  and  distance. 
/.  Maps. 

g.    Gravity. 

3.  Topics  often  included. 

A.  Suitable  to  few  locaUties :  Volcanoes,  mountains,  ocean. 

B.  Not  geographical : 

a.  Name  and  functions  of  officers  of  local  government. 


Appendix  '  285 


b.  Building  of  a  house  or  mechanical  details  of  any  trade.  i 

c.  Topics  in  geology  such  as  formation  of  coal,  marble,  etc.  ' 
C.    Beyond  powers  of  pupils. 

a.  Form  of  earth,  relation  of  bodies  in  solar  system  ' 

b.  Rotation  and  revolution  of  earth.  i 

c.  Theor}'  of  storms.  ' 

4.  Summaries:  ; 

A .  Must  be  simple  and  easily  drawn  from  previous  work. 

B.  Must  be  of  such  a  nature  that  they  can  be  expanded  as  years  go  on  with-  ' 
out  overturning  base  learned  in  earlier  years.  ■ 

C.  Examples  of  good  summaries  :  1 

a.  Wind  is  air  moving  horizontally.  { 

b.  River  is  a  stream  of  water  and  detritus  flowing  through  the  land.  i 

D.  Examples  ol  bad  summaries  :  ^ 

a.  A  lake  is  a  body  of  water  surrounded  by  land.  j 

b.  Mountains  are  high  elevations  of  land.  ' 

c.  A  divide  is  the  high  land  which  separates  two  rivers.  j 

d.  A  river  is  a  stream  of  water  which  flows  into  the  sea.  : 

e.  Hollow  places  in  the  land  filled  with  water  are  called  lakes. 
/.   A  swamp  is  a  tract  of  land  soaked  with  water. 

5.  Some  Simple  Units  of  Home  Geography  to  indicate  Basis  of  Choice 
OF  Topics. 

A .  The  home  :  j 

a.  Simplest  group  of  individuals  which  illustrates  essentials  of  larger  I 

groups.  ' 

b.  A  unit  of  government:  need  of  government  in  home  and   in  any  j 

group.  ! 

c.  Division  of  labor  in  home  illustrates  a  world  truth  as  to  relations  of  1 

individuals  and  groups.  j 

B.  Groups  of  homes.  j 

a.  Country  four  corners.  j 

b.  Village.  j 

c.  City. 

d.  Location  of  such  cities  as  Vienna,  Constantinople,  Chicago.  j 
C    Simpler  surface  features.                                                                                                      i 

a.  Why  important,  —  travel  over,  seen  as  landscape. 

b.  Why  emphasize  landscape  and  not  forms  first  ?  ■ 

c.  Plains,  —  why  most  important  ?     Life  relation  to. 

d.  Rolling  lands.  —  Relations  to  life.  , 

e.  Mountain  regions.  —  Relations  to  life  (should,  in  many  localities,  be  ; 

deferred  to  later  work).  i 

References:   Teachers  College  i?ecori,  March,  1 901,  pp.  15-17.     Davis,  W.  j 

M.,  "  Home  Geography,"  Journal  of  Geography,  p.  i.    Geikie,  A.,  The  Teaching  of  \ 

Geography,,  chap.  ii.     McMurry,  C.  A.,  Excursions  and  Lessons  in  Home  Geog-  i 

raphy. 

6.  First  Knowledge  of  World  Whole.  ' 


286  Appendix 


A.   Expansion  of  home  geography  outward  to  ocean. 

a.   How  to  present  form  of  earth  —  relation  to  home,  necessities  and 

luxuries. 
h.   Parts  of  earth  that  may  be  related  to  home  in  developing  knowledge 
of  world  whole,  based  on  experience  of  pupils. 
(i)    Northern    North    America    and    Europe  —  furs.     (2)    Southern 
North  America  —  bananas,  woods,  cacao.     (3)    Northern  South 
America  —  India  rubber,   coflfee,   Brazil  nuts.     (4)    Southern 
South  America  —  hides,  and  meat  products.     (5)  West  Central 
Europe  —  embroideries,  wine,  cheese.     (6)  Southern  Europe  — 
olives,  cork.     (7)  Southeastern  Asia  —  tea,  silks,  spices,  fire- 
crackers.    (8)  Central  Africa  —  ivory,  palm  oil.     (g)  Southern 
Africa  —  diamonds.     (10)     Southwestern    Asia  —  rugs.     (11) 
Australia  —  wool. 

7.    How  TO  LEAD  UP  TO  CliMATE  OF  WORLD. 

A.  Points  to  be  brought  out : 

a.   Direction  and  distance  in  time. 

h.    Similarity  of  purpose  of  life.     Food,  clothing,  shelter. 

c.  Different  ways  of  doing  things  amid  different  conditions. 

Homes,  dress,  travel,  kinds  of  food,  natural  food,  weather  conditions. 

d.  Interrelation  of  peoples. 

B.  Points  which  may  be  neglected  : 

a.   Overmuch  detail,  i.e.  Details  of  home  life  or  occupations.     Scenery. 
h.    Curious  and  unimportant  customs.     Slanting  eyes.     Personal  cus- 
toms. 
References:   Farnham,  A.  W.,  "Oswego  Geography  Course,"  Journal  of 
Geography,  v,  p.  109.     Teachers  College  Record,  March,  1901,  pp.  17-20,  24-27. 

V.     The  Point  of  View  and  Method  of  Approach  in  Intermediate  Work 

I.  Purposes. 

Knowledge  of  more  important  Continents  and  Countries,  lives  of  people  and 
reasons  therefor. 

A.  Knowledge  of  facts  of  everyday  life.  Consequences  to  causes,  —  phys- 
ical features  in  the  large  as  points  of  departure  for  giving  setting.  Follow  politi- 
cal divisions  because  of  practical  advantage. 

B.  Industrial  interrelations  of  regions  to  be  brought  out. 

C.  Causal  location  and  non-causal  location.  Picturesque  side  and  how  se- 
cured. Permanent  location  in  visual  image.  Temporary  location  for  clearness 
and  practice.     Memory  work  in  location. 

D.  "Methods"  of  approach  : 

a.  " Concentric"  —  disadvantages. 

b.  "Journey"  —  when  valuable  —  disadvantages. 

c.  "Type"  method.     What  this  means  in  a  large  way. 

d.  "Map  drawing"  method. 

e.  Value  of  reversing  method  in  upper  grammar  grades. 


Appendix  287 


E.   The  place  of  method. 

a.  Advantages  and  disadvantages  of  following  a  "method,"  centered 

about  a  personal  point  of  view. 
h.    Value  of  subordinating  "methods"  to  method. 
References  :   Bagley,  W.  C,  "Geography  in  Intermediate  Grades,"  Journal 
of  Geography,  iv,  p.  299.     Teachers  College  Record,  March,  1901,  pp.  29-35. 
2.  The  So-Called  Type  Method. 

A.  What  is  a  type?  "A  type  is  that  individual  of  a  species  or  genus  which 
contains  the  largest  number  of  features  which  are  characteristic  of  the  species 
or  genus  as  a  whole." 

B.  Types  must  be  good  geographic  units,  and  not  mere  instances.  The  essen- 
tials of  a  good  geographic  unit. 

C    A  typical  instance  is  not : 

a.  The  most  involved  or  striking  example. 
h.   The  most  interesting  example. 

D.  Why  types  cannot  easily  be  selected  in  geography.  Advantages  and 
difficulties  of  using  types. 

a.   Examples  of  good  types. 

E.  Ways  in  which  teaching  by  types  is  actually  used  in  various  texts  and 
courses  of  study. 

F.  Teaching  by  "types"  does  not  readily  lead  to  the  bringing  out  of  political 
features ;   leads  to  overmuch  detail  and  overemphasis  of  non-essentials. 

Reference  :  McMurry,  C.  A.,  Special  Method  in  Geography,  chap.  ix. 


VI.    Industrial  and  Commercial  Geography 

I.  Present  Emphasis  of  Industrial  and  Commercial  Geography. 

A.  Reasons  for  that  emphasis :  practical  and  educational. 

B.  Industrial  geography  deals  with  the  geography  underlying  the  principal 
human  occupations  :  that  is,  the  reason  for  the  occurrence  of  industries  in  given 
localities. 

C.  Commercial  geography  deals  with  the  elementary  principles  of  trade  and 
commerce,  and  includes  a  study  of  geography  of  great  regions  of  production 
and  demand,  with  causes.  Emphasizes  interrelation  of  commercial  areas  and 
reasons  for  same. 

D.  Industrial  geography  should  be  emphasized  in  intermediate  years;  com- 
mercial geography  in  the  upper  grades. 

E.  Industrial  geography  should  include  the  study  of  groupings  of  peoples 
according  to  occupations  and  lead  up  to  a  knowledge  of  the  simpler  reasons 
therefor.  These  groups  are  agriculture,  grazing,  lumbering,  mining,  manufac- 
turing, commerce,  and  "scenic  centers." 

F.  Geography  does  not  call  for  study  of  technique  of  industries,  and  should 
not  include  special  study  of  details  of  industries.  Futility  of  studying  processes. 
Geographic  side  includes  the  reasons  for  industry  and  not  the  manner  of  it. 
Technique  is  largely  result  of  human  invention  and  is  not  geographic  except  pos- 


288  Appendix 


sibly  where  some  invention  has  revolutionized  an  industry  and  greatly  changed 
relations  of  peoples  to  their  geographic  surroundings. 

G.  Geography  underlying  agriculture,  grazing,  and  lumbering  as  examples  of 
geographic  influences. 

B..  Commercial  geography  should  be  based  on  knowledge  of  industrial  and 
physical  geography  of  earlier  years,  and  should  be  a  part  of  regional  geogra- 
phy —  not  a  special  topic.  It  should  include  study  of  routes  of  trade,  areas 
of  supply  and  consumption  of  chiej  foods,  textiles,  manufactured  products, 
raw  materials,  etc.,  and  relative  status  of  chief  commercial  nations,  and 
reasons. 

/.  Diflficulties  in  teaching  commercial  geography  are  due  to  modernness  of 
subject,  constant  changes  involved,  lack  of  illustrative  materials  and  to  diffi- 
culties of  securing  proper  materials  for  class  study, 

/.  Some  recent  successes  in  teaching  commercial  and  industrial  geography. 
The  development  and  purposes  of  commercial  museums  for  schools. 

Reference  :  Teachers  College  Record,  March,  1901,  pp.  29-35. 


VII.    The  Basis  of  Work  in  the  Upper  Grades 

1.  Geography  in  Upper  Grades  should  be  founded  on  Good  Working 
Knowledge  of  Elementary  Principles  of  Geography. 

A.  These  principles  should  be  elaborated  summaries  or  generalizations  of 
earlier  work,  and  should  be  developed  only  so  fully  as  is  necessary  for  clearness 
and  for  future  good  work. 

B.  Physical  geography  not  as  an  end,  but  as  a  means  to  an  end. 

C.  Life  consequences  to  be  made  prominent  as  illustrations  at  every 
step. 

2.  This  Work  should  include  : 

A .  Earth's  shape  —  simple  proofs  and  effects. 

B.  Earth's  motions  —  results. 

C.  Elements  of  climate  and  weather  as  related  to  earth's  motions  with  effects. 
Importance  of  climate. 

D.  Simpler  land  forms  and  influence  on  life.     Drainage. 

E.  Simpler  features  of  oceans  and  oceanic  movements  as  related  to  commerce 
and  trade.     Tides  need  not  be  elaborated 

F.  Distribution  of  plants  as  related  to  causes,  especially  climate. 

G.  Distribution  of  animals  as  related  to  causes.  This  topic  should  be  treated 
briefly. 

E.  Races  of  men  and  their  distribution  as  related  to  climate  and  food 
supply. 

/.    Elements  of  commerce  causally  developed. 

/.  Elements  of  political  geography  —  including  meaning  of  nation,  of  boun- 
dary, origin  of  boundaries,  exchange  of  consuls,  ministers,  etc. 

3.  Topics  which  may  be  Omitted  : 
A .  Causes  of  tides. 


Appendix  289 


B.  Condition  of  interior  of  earth, 

C.  Causes  of  mountain  growth. 

D.  Details  of  glaciation. 

E.  Geological  development  of  continent. 
4.  Method  in  Large. 

A.  Work  should  be  developed,  as  far  as  possible,  as  result  of  map  work  and 
personal  observ^ations. 

B.  Principles  should  be  illustrated  as  widely  as  possible  to  show  general  im- 
portance. 

C  Some  topics  may  readily  be  studied  in  association  with  study  of  Africa  or 
Australia,  and  thus  training  may  be  given  in  working  from  causes  to  conse- 
quences, as  preliminary  to  later  use  of  definite  causal  order. 

Reference  :  Redway,  'New  Basis  of  Geography,  chap,  viii. 


VIII.    The  Topical  Method  in  Upper  Grades 

1.  General  Agreement  in  Reference  to  Teaching  Continents  in  Upper 
Grades  from  Causes  to  Consequences. 

A .  Principles  should  be  used  as  basis  of  work, 

B.  Work  should  be  largely  based  on  map  study,  especially  maps  of  climate, 
physical  features,  distribution  of  trade  routes,  peoples,  industries,  etc. 

C.  Work  should  not  be  too  stereotyped,  —  that  is,  order  of  procedure  should 
not  always  be  the  same. 

D.  Training  should  be  given  in  reasoning  and  in  use  of  reference  books,  texts, 
atlases,  etc. 

E.  Topical  method  means  to  work  from  larger,  simple,  general  features,  out 
to  more  detailed,  special  and  complex  conditions.  Possible  modifications  and 
advantages.     Using  an  imaginary  continent. 

2.  An  Example  of  Topical  Order:  The  Larger  Features  of  North 
America. 

A.  Location: 

a.  By  latitude  and  longitude. 

b.  In  reference  to  ocean. 

c.  In  reference  to  other  continents. 

d.  In  reference  to  wind  systems. 

B.  Larger  surface  features  : 

a.  Cordilleran  Highland, 

b.  Appalachian  Highland. 

c.  Atlantic  Coastal  Plain. 

d.  Great  Central  Plain. 

e.  Height  of  Land. 

/,    Influence  and  extent  of  glaciation. 
g.    Consequent  Hnes  of  drainage  : 

(i)    Arctic  drainage.     (2)    Pacific  drainage.     (3)    Atlantic   drainage, 
(i)  Direct,     (ii)  By  St.  Lawrence,     (m)  By  Gulf  of  Mexico. 


29Q  Appendix 


C.  Coast  line : 

a.   Compare  east  and  west  coast  as  to : 

(i)  General    form.     (2)  Number    of    harbors.     (3)  Availability    of 
harbors.     (4)  Nearness  to  foreign  ports. 

D.  Climate: 

a.  Position  in  reference  to  wind  systems. 

b.  Summer  and  winter  distribution  and  range  of  temperatures. 

c.  Relation  to  ocean  and  ocean  currents. 

d.  Chief  modifications  due  to  surface. 

e.  Three  climatic  divisions :  east  coastal,  west  coastal,  and  interior. 
/.    Rainfall  in  each  as  related  to  agriculture. 

g.    The  growing  season  conditions  in  each. 

E.  Vegetation : 

a.  Chief  vegetation  regions  as  related  to  climate  and  surface. 

b.  Distribution   and  characteristic   features  of   tundra,  forests,  steppes, 

and  deserts. 

c.  Significance  of  vegetation  distribution. 

F.  Animals :   Briefly  as  related  to  climate  and  vegetation. 

a.  Domestic. 

b.  Wild. 

G.  Mineral  products  :  As  related  to  surface. 

n.  People :  Distribution  of  people  as  related  to  surface,  climate,  drainage, 
coast  line,  and  products.  (Follow  this  by  summary  of  United  States  as  related 
to  North  America,  and  then  by  New  England,  following  order  given  and  ex- 
tending to  occupations  and  commerce.  Bring  out  location  of  leading  cities 
causally.) 

/.  Summarize  continents  by  comparative  study  of  reasons  for  commer- 
cial development  of  principal  nations  and  of  distribution  of  great  world  prod- 
ucts. 

References  :  Farnham,  A.  W.,  "  Oswego  Geography  Course,^'  Journal  of  Geog- 
raphy, V,  p.  211.  Hotchkiss,  C.  W.,  Journal  of  School  Geography,  ii,  p.  41. 
Reudiger,  W.  C, "  Suggestions  for  Geography  Teaching  in  Upper  Gia.des,"  Journal 
of  Geography,  iv,  p.  433. 


IX.    The  Use  of  Maps  and  Textbooks 

I.  Advantages  of  a  Text: 

A.  Outlines  a  course  of  study  when  none  better  is  available. 

B.  Gives  clear  definitions  and  summaries. 

C    Gives  second  exposition  of  subject  matter  of  value  to  pupils  who  gain 
best  impression  through  the  eyes. 

D.  Shows  relative  values  of  different  parts  of  subject. 

E.  Furnishes  text,  maps,  and  illustrations  for  study. 

F.  Gives  chance  for  training  in  how  to  study. 

G.  Gives  means  of  holding  children  responsible  for  certain  work. 


Appendix  291 


2.  How  TO  USE  Text: 

A .  Text  should  be  servant  of  teacher,  and  not  the  teacher  a  slave  of  text. 

B.  Text  used  before  recitation  in  association  with  outline  or  series  of  map 
questions  where  nature  of  materials  or  other  conditions  do  not  permit  develop- 
ment.    Advantages  of  assigning  lessons  in  certain  grades. 

C.  Text  used  in  recitation  to  give  training  in  how  to  study  in  intermediate 
grades. 

D.  Text  used  after  recitation  as  means  of  summary  and  review  in  much  of 
home  geography  and  in  certain  parts  of  upper  grade  work.  Teachers  here 
use  materials  of  book  as  "texts"  or  points  of  departure. 

3.  The  Use  of  Maps. 

A.  Maps  fundamental  in  geography. 

B.  Maps  only  clear  and  accurate  means  of  representing  certain  classes  of 
facts.     Examples  of  such  facts. 

C.  Essential  points  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  map  use. 

a.  Cardinal  directions  indicated  by  meridians  and  parallels. 

b.  Top  of  map  is  not  necessarily  north. 

c.  Scale  is  necessar}^  for  getting  ideas  of  distance  and  area. 

d.  Each  map  has  special  symbols  adapted  to  special  purpose  of  map. 

e.  First  maps  studied  should  be  maps  of  local  region  shown  in  a  horizon- 

tal position  and  properly  oriented. 

D.  Maps  of  most  service  in  texts  and  classroom : 

a.  Political  maps  in  all  grades. 

b.  Physical  maps  of  large  areas  only  give  relative  conditions.     Cannot 

give  exact  representation  of  country.     Dangers  in  physical  and  relief 
maps. 

c.  Climatic  maps  :  annual,  seasonal,  special.     Winds  and  heat  belts. 

d.  Vegetation  maps  in  upper  grades. 

e.  Product  and  commercial  maps  as  related  to  vegetation,  climate,  and 

surface. 
References:    Red  way,  J.  W.,  New  Basis  of  Geography,  chap.  ix.     Calkins, 
R.  C,  "The  Text,  the  Course  of  Study  and  the  Tea-cher,"  Joicrnal  of  Geography, iv, 
p.  164.     Brown,  Robert  M.,"Map  Reading,"  Journal  of  Geography,  iv,  pp.  273- 
288. 

X.     The  Relation  of  Geography  to  Other  Subjects  in  Curriculum 

I.   Place  of  Geography. 

A.  Geography  is  considered  by  some  as  fundamental  subject  in  curriculum, 
as  it  gives  ba=is  for  study  of  human  activities. 

B.  Geography  is  rather  an  important  subject  to  be  studied  in  connection 
with  other  subjects  so  as  to  produce  best  results  from  curriculum  as  a  whole. 

C.  Cooperation  between  subjects  does  not  mean  parallelism  in  teaching  or 
disorganization  on  one  subject  because  of  temporary  possible  cross  relations 
to  other  subjects. 

D.  Unity  of  course  of  study  as  whole  in  any  subject  of  more  value  than  tem- 
porary mutual  relations  between  subjects. 


292  Appendix 


E.  Geography  closely  related,  in  many  ways,  to  nature  study,  history, 
language,  and  arithmetic. 

F.  Geography  may  contribute  to  and  receive  help  from  industrial  sub- 
jects. 

2.  Geography  and  Nature  Study. 

A.  Simpler  elements  of  geography  should  be  included  sanely  in  nature 
study  of  Grades  I,  II,  and  III. 

B.  Geography  in  Grade  III  and  perhaps  IV  should  be  based  on  nature 
study  of  earlier  years.  Simpler  aspects  of  home  geography  should  be  taught 
before  Grade  III. 

C.  Geography  contributes  to  nature  study  knowledge  of  conditions  influ- 
encing distribution  of  plants  and  animals,  elements  of  weather,  soils,  slopes, 
drainage,  simple  land  forms,  distance,  and  other  conditions  affecting  problems 
of  food,  clothing,  and  shelter. 

D.  Geography  gives  application  to  nature  study  in  upper  grades,  summar- 
izes distribution  of  animals  and  plants,  and  gives  regional  basis  to  nature 
study. 

E.  Nature  study  contributes  to  geography  knowledge  of  plants  and  animals 
and  their  ecological  relations,  physics  and  chemistry  of  soils,  water,  etc.,  as 
related  to  agriculture,  grazing,  and  lumbering. 

F.  Topics  of  doubtful  value  in  nature  study  or  elementary  geography. 
a.   Formation  of  coal,  marble,  and  rocks,  and  similar  topics. 

h.   Minerals,  except  in  localities  where  minerals  may  be  found. 
c.   Earth's  motions  and  similar  large  topics    which  cannot  be  studied 
through  observation. 

3.  Geography  in  its  Relation  to  History. 

A.  Geography  finds  its  best  applications  in  history. 

B.  Geographic  influences  vs.  geographic  controls  in  history. 

C.  Geography  deals  with  the  relation  between  physical  environment  and 
life  in  all  its  phases.  History  deals  with  the  interpretation  of  human  move- 
ments. 

D.  Hence  history  finds  its  basis  largely  in  geography  both  in  reference  to 
large  facts  and  smaller  details.     Examples. 

E.  Suggested  order  of  studying  geography  and  history  in  the  different 
grades.  History  should  aid  in  m.aking  political  geography  understand- 
able. 

4.  Geography  in  its  Relation  to  Arithmetic. 

A.  Problems  in  area,  distance,  time,  averages,  proportion,  etc.,  may  well 
be  developed  through  use  of  facts  of  geography. 

B.  Graphic  method  of  representing  comparisons  in  geography  should  be 
developed  in  arithmetic. 

C.  Latitude  and  longitude  to  be  developed  in  geography  and  applied  in 
arithmetic. 

5.  Geography  in  its  Relation  to  Language. 

A.  Geography  finds  much  of  its  material  in  literature  and  its  largest  means 
of  expression  in  language. 

B.  Geography  should  give  landscape  setting  to  poetry  and  prose. 


Appendix  293 


C.  The  study  of  literature  should  include  material  which  is  geographically 
sound. 

D.  Much  geography  is  not  expressed  in  good  literary  form,  and  much  lit- 
erature is  geographically  unsound. 

References  :  McMurry,  C.  A.,  Special  Method  in  Geography,  chap.  viii. 
Allen,  L.  R.,  "  Correlation  of  Geography  and  History,"  Journal  of  Geography, 
ii,  p.  404.  Woodice,  Florence  A.,  and  Brown,  Robert  M.,  "An  Experiment 
with  Geography  and  History  with  a  Sixth  Grade,"  Journal  of  Geography,  vii, 
pp.  1-7. 

XI.     Geography  and  Expression  Work 

1.  Expression. 

A.  Chief  and  most  important  forms  of  expression  are  oral  and  written 
expression. 

B.  Danger  and  unfairness  of  considering  expression  work  to  be  merely 
handwork. 

2.  Chief  Ways  in  which  Handwork  can  be  used  in  Geography. 
Through  map  drawing,  map  filling,  sand  or  chalk  modeling,  and  freehand 

drawing. 

A.  Modeling: 

a.  A  means  to  an  end  of  value  if  done  skillfully  and  easily. 

b.  Dangers  in  representing  scale  and  slopes. 

c.  Should  involve  small  area  as  to  details  or  merely  general  features 

of  a  large  area.     First  work   in  modeling  should   be  devoted  to 
features  that  children  may  observe  as  wholes. 

B.  Map  Drawing : 

a.   Too  time-consuming  as  a  rule. 

h.   Difficulties  of  projection  and  scale. 

c.  Over-refined  product  should  not  be  called  for. 

d.  Children's  maps  are  a  bad  basis  for  visualization. 

C.  Map  Filling : 

a.   Makes  use  of  best  base  map  available  and  same  base  map  for  all. 
h.   Excellent  means  of  review  as  test  of  knowledge  gained. 
c.   Relative  value  of  flat  and  relief  outline  maps. 

D.  Freehand  Drawing : 

a.  An  accessory  to  geography  work,  not  a  way  of  making  confused  objects 
or  relations  clear. 

h.  Value  of  slope  sketching,  of  simple  landscape  work,  and  of  map  color- 
ing. 

c.  Hand  work  may  borrow  ideas  and  details  from  geography  but  adds 
little  to  value  of  geography  as  a  subject. 


294  Appendix 


XII.     Equipment  in  Geography  Teaching 

I.  Necessity  of  Equipment. 

Maps,  globes,  and  illustrations.     Costly  single  pieces  of  apparatus  to  be 
avoided. 

A.  Maps: 

a.   Every  schoolroom  should  contain  the  following  wall  maps : 

(i)  Mercator  map  of  world.     (2)  Map  of  North  America  or  United 
States.     (3)  Map  of  continents  to  be  studied. 
h.   Maps  should  be  chosen  for  demonstration  and  recitation  work  and 
not  for  study. 

c.  Hence  should  be  clear,  capable  of  being  seen  across  the  room,  not 

overcrowded  with  details :   rivers  and  cities  not  overemphasized. 

d.  Upper  grades  should  have  physical  map  of  United  States  and  Europe 

for  use  in  history  and  geography. 

e.  The  use  of  United  States  Geological  Survey  Topographic  Maps. 
/.    Use  and  means  of  securing  weather  maps. 

g.   Blackboard  outline  maps,  —  value  and  use. 

h.    Difficulties  of  securing  certain  much  desired  wall  maps. 

B.  Globes: 

a.  One  10  or  12  inch  political  globe  available  in  every  room. 

h.  Globe  to  be  of  a  size  to  be  easily  handled. 

c.  Political  globe  should  be  up-to-date;   not  overcrowded. 

d.  Blackboard  globes,  —  how  used. 

e.  Small  physical  or  political  globes  for  individual  use. 
/.  The  use  of  relief  globes. 

C.  Apparatus : 

a.   Avoid  large  pieces  and  geographical  diagrams. 

h.   Standard  thermometer,  barometer,  compass,  and  wind  vane  to  be 

available. 
c.    Special  pieces  available  for  special  purposes. 

D.  Illustrations : 

a.  Includes  photographs,  cuts  from  magazines,  slides,  stereoscopic 
views. 

h.  Necessity  of  scheme  for  selection,  classification,  and  storage  of  mate- 
rials. 

c.  Value  of  a  few  good  illustrations  as  compared  with  a  host  of  poor 

illustrations. 

d.  Relative  advantages  of  pictures,  slides  and  stereoscope  for  special 

purposes. 

e.  Mechanical  difficulties  incident  to  class  use  of  illustrations. 
References:  Redway,  J.  W.,  Neiv  Basis  of  Geography,  chap.  xi.  "Equip- 
ment for  Geography  Teaching,"  Journal  of  Geography,  v,  pp.  242-250.  Whit- 
beck,  R.  H.,  "  Practical  Work  in  School  Geography,"  Journal  of  Geography, 
iii,  pp.  374-379.  Emerson,  P.,  "  Field  Work  in  the  Class-Room,"  Journal  of 
Geography,  i,  pp.  54-57,  81-98. 


Appendix  295 


XIII.    The  Geographic  Preparation  of  a  Teacher  of  Geography 

It  is  neither  possible  nor  desirable  to  have  every  grade  school  teacher  a 
specialist  in  geography. 

A.  The  scope  of  work  analyzed. 

a.  Larger  portion  of  work  will  be  the  geography  of  continents  in  earlier  or 
later  grades. 

h.  Small  portion  of  work  will  be  development  of  principles  of  physical  and 
life  geography. 

c.    The  principles  will  be  expected  to  be  used  in  continental  work. 

B.  The  requisite  training  of  a  teacher  must  then  include : 

a.  Some  study  of  larger  principles  so  as  to  make  these  principles  usable  in 
all  grades. 

h.  Special  study  of  one  or  more  continents  so  as  to  give  point  of  view  and 
method  of  studying  a  region  causally. 

c.  Training  in  use  of  maps,  especially  atlas  and  text  maps,  weather  maps 
and  United  States  Geological  Survey  Topographic  Maps. 

d.  Knowledge  of  larger  principles  underlying  geography  teaching  in  the 
grades  and  study  of  special  difficulties  in  each  phase  of  elementary  school  work. 
Knowledge  of  subject  matter  is  an  essential  basis  for  study  of  methods  of 
teaching. 

e.  These  requisites  suggest  the  necessary  content  and  order  of  procedure  in 
geography  courses  in  training  classes. 

C.  Desirable  training  that  teachers  should  be  encouraged  to  secure. 

a.  Knowledge  of  geography  beyond  the  minimum  outlined  above  and  suffi- 
cient to  make  them  independent  workers  and  possibly  investigators  in  some 
phase  of  geography. 

h.    Good  knowledge  of  history  of  United  States  and  Europe. 

c.  Knowledge  of  elements  of  anthropology,  economics,  and  biology,  par- 
ticularly along  ecological  lines. 

d.  Knowledge  of  modern  industrial  problems  in  the  United  States,  particu- 
larly along  lines  of  agriculture,  manufacturing,  commerce,  and  conservation  of 
forests  and  water  supply. 

D.  Opportunities  for  securing  training  in  geography. 

a.  Larger  and  better  normal  schools  and  many  colleges  and  universities  now 
include  v/ell  planned  courses  in  geography. 

h.  Teachers  in  service  will  find  splendid  opportunities  for  geography  work 
at  the  summer  schools  of  colleges  and  normc.l  schools.  Also  in  some  cases  in 
certain  phases  of  the  subject,  work  may  be  secured  in  extension  and  corre- 
spondence courses. 

c.  Teachers  seeking  summer  school  opportunities  should  go  to  institutions 
that  have  summer  terms,  and  not,  as  a  rule,  merely  to  summer  institutions. 
Geography  cannot  be  adequately  taught  without  equipment,  and  only  those  in- 
stitutions which  are  in  operation  the  year  round  can  have  adequate  equipment. 


296  Appendix 


SELECTED  REFERENCE  LIST  FOR  TEACHERS 

General:  — 

Longman's  Gazetteer.  Longmans.  The  authoritative  pronouncing  and  spell- 
ing gazetteer  of  the  world.  Contains  excellent  brief  descriptions  of  all  im- 
portant places. 

Lippincott's  Gazetteer.  A  recent  authoritative  volume  containmg  excellent 
brief  descriptions  of  all  places  of  any  importance. 

Andree's  Hand  Atlas.  Velhagen  and  Klasing,  Leipsig.  Recent  reference  atlas 
containing  excellent  climatic  maps  and  maps  showing  distribution  of  peoples, 
religions,  plants,  animals,  etc. 

Stieler's  Hand  Atlas.     Perthes,  Gotha.     The  leading  reference  atlas. 

Mill,  International  Geography.  Appleton.  The  best  single  volume  reference 
book  on  general  and  regional  geography. 

Statiford's  Compeyidia  (reissue).  Stanford.  The  leading  reference  books  on 
the  several  continents.  Two  volumes  each  on  Asia,  Australia,  North  America, 
Central  and  South  America,  Africa  and  Europe. 

Regional  Geography.  Appleton.  Accurate,  readable,  helpful  volumes  of 
first  importance.  Includes  volumes  on  Britain  and  the  British  Seas,  Central 
Europe,  India,  The  Nearer  East,  and  North  America. 

Herbertson,  Senior  Geography.  A  very  useful  volume  summarizing  geog- 
raphy of  several  continents  in  a  causal  order.     Especially  helpful  for  Europe. 

Mill,  Hints  to  Teachers  and  Students  on  the  Choice  of  Geographical  Books  for 
Reference  and  Reading.  Longmans.  A  very  helpful  reference  list  with  brief 
comments  on  the  individual  references.  Gives  general  and  special  references. 
A  new  edition  appeared  early  in  1909. 

The  Teaching  of  Geography :  — 

Geikie,  The  Teaching  of  Geography.  Macmillan.  A  very  suggestive  book 
on  the  essentials  of  good  geography  teaching. 

McMurry,  C.  A.,  Special  Method  in  Geography.  Macmillan.  Discusses 
the  scope  of  geography  and  outlines  a  course  emphasizing  the  teaching  by 
types. 

Redway,  New  Basis  of  Geography.  Macmillan.  Interesting  and  helpful  for 
teachers  in  upper  grades  who  need  to  teach  continents  from  the  practical  stand- 
point. 

Physical  Geography:  — 

Mill,  Realm  of  Nattire.  Scribners.  A  very  valuable  and  simple  book  on 
physical  and  mathematical  geography  and  on  biogeography. 

Davis,  Physical  Geography.  Ginn  &  Co.  An  authoritative  secondary  school 
text,  particularly  helpful  in  reference  to  the  land  features. 

Davis,  Elementary  Meteorology.  Ginn  &  Co.  The  leading  English  book  on 
weather  and  climate. 

Ward,  Practical  Exercises  in  Elementary  Meteorology.  Ginn  &  Co.  Very 
helpful  to  teachers  who  have  to  deal  with  weather  phenomena. 


Appendix  297 


Gilbert  and  Brigham,  Introduction  to  Physical  Geogtaphy.  Appleton.  An 
interesting,  authoritative,  and  well  illustrated  secondary  text  on  physical 
geography. 

Tarr,  Neiv  Physical  Geography.  The  Macmillan  Company.  One  of  the 
newest  and  best  high  school  books. 

Salisbury,  Physiography.  Henry  Holt  &  Company.  Most  inclusive  and 
best  illustrated  volume  available.     An  indispensable  library  reference  volume. 

Harrington,  Mark  W.,  About  the  Weather.  Appleton.  Very  helpful  for 
teachers  in  elementary  grades. 

Dodge,  Reader  in  Physical  Geography  for  Beginners.  Longmans.  Small 
volume  on  physical  geography,  available  as  an  introduction  to  the  subject. 

Biogeography:  — 

Ratzel,  History  of  Mankind  (3  vols.).  Macmillan.  A  very  comprehensive 
book  on  the  races  of  mankind,  the  first  volume  being  particularly  valuable  for 
its  consideration  of  the  problems  of  race  distribution. 

Wallace,  Island  Life.  Macmillan.  Classic  book  on  animal  distribution  from 
geographic  standpoint. 

Guyot,  Earth  and  Man.  Scribners.  One  of  the  older  books,  and  hence  not 
written  from  a  modern  standpoint :  but  still  invaluable  for  presenting  the  rela- 
tion of  earth  features  to  life. 

Herbertson,  Alan  and  His  Work.  A.  and  C.  Black.  A  very  usable  and 
interesting  small  volume,  showing  the  manner  of  life  of  people  living  in  dif- 
ferent vegetation  regions  and  amid  different  surface  conditions. 

Lyddeker,  Hutchinson  and  Gregory,  Living  Races  of  Mankind.  Hutchinson 
&  Co.  Two  splendidly  illustrated  volumes  on  the  races  of  men,  simple,  and 
popularly  written. 

Commercial  Geography:  — 

Adams,  Commercial  Geography.  Appleton.  An  accurate,  well  ordered,  and 
almost  indispensable  book  on  commercial  geography.  Maps  and  diagrams  are 
very  numerous  and  helpful  for  the  teacher. 

Chisholm,  Commercial  Geography.  Longmans.  The  most  inclusive  volume 
in  the  English  language.  Contains  excellent  abstracts  of  general  geography 
of  each  country  in  a  good  causal  order. 

Periodicals :  — 

Journal  of  Geography.  Published  by  Teachers  College,  New  York  City. 
Only  journal  in  the  country  devoted  to  teaching  of  geography. 

Geographical  Teacher.  Phillips,  London.  Similar  in  scope  to  above  journal 
and  contains  much  of  value  to  American  teachers. 

National  Geographic  Magazine.  Washington,  D.  C.  Leading  popular  jour- 
nal of  geography  in  country. 

Geographical  Journal.  London.  Leading  strictly  geographical  journal  in 
English-speaking  world. 


298  Appendix 


IV.  THE   TEACHING   OF    HISTORY 

By  Henry  Johnson,  A.M. 

L     What  History  is 

1.  The  Word  "History"  may  denote: 
a.   Past  facts  themselves. 

h.  Traces  left  by  past  facts. 

c.  The  study  which  investigates  such  traces. 

d.  The  knowledge  thus  obtained. 

e.  An  account  or  narrative  in  which  such  knowledge  is  embodied. 

2.  The  Sources  of  Historical  Knowledge. 
a.  Primary  sources. 

1.  Material  remains  —  roads,   buildings,    tools,   weapons,   clothing,  any 

material  object  shaped  by  man  or  associated  with  his  life  on  the 
earth. 

2.  Reports  of  conditions  and  events  made  by  actual  observers.     Such 

reports  may  be  oral,  written  or  printed,  pictorial. 
6.    Secondary  sources  —  reports  or  accounts  based  upon  primary  sources. 

c.  Accounts  based  upon  other  accounts  in  varying  degrees  of  removal  even 
from  secondary  sources. 

d.  Existing  sources  relate  to  fragments  only  of  man's  total  experience  in  the 
world. 

3.  Historical  Criticism  —  the  '  Foundation  for  the  Determination 
OF  Particular  Facts  relating  to  the  Past. 

a.  External  criticism  —  investigation  of  the  origin  and  transmission  of 
sources;  a  study  of  form,  language,  writing.  Is  the  material  remaining 
authentic?     Who  was  the  author  of  the  document?     What  did  he  say? 

h.  Internal  criticism  —  investigation  of  the  content  of  sources.  What  did 
the  author  mean?     Are  his  statements  true? 

c.  The  need  of  historical  criticism  finds  daily  illustration  in  the  schoolroom, 
in  ordinary  conversation,  in  the  newspapers. 

d.  Historical  criticism  first  formally  applied  by  the  Greeks.  Not  fully  de- 
veloped until  modern  times. 

4.  Historical  Synthesis  —  putting  the  Facts  together  into  a  Body 
OF  Organized  Knowledge. 

a.  The  chronological  order  —  facts  arranged  according  to  time  of  occur- 
rence. 

h.   The  geographical  order  —  facts  arranged  according  to  place  of  occurrence. 

c.  The  logical  order  —  facts  arranged  according  to  their  intrinsic  nature. 

d.  One  order  used  exclusively. 

5.  History  as  an  Account  or  Narrative. 
a.   The  subject  embraced. 

1.  A  single  person. 

2.  A  single  people  —  whole  known  period  or  a  part  of  it. 


Appendix  299 


3.   The  whole  world  —  universal  history. 
h.   General  conceptions  of  history  writing. 

1.  A  narrative  of  memorable  events.     Aim,  mainly  to  please.     Content 

determined  by  taste  of  authors  and  their  public.  Epic  poets  and 
story-tellers  early  contributors.  Classical  type  fixed  by  Herodotus, 
the  "father  of  history." 

2.  A  collection  of  precedents  supposed  to  be  useful  to  statesmen,  generals, 

and  others.  Aim,  didactic.  Content  determined  by  the  kind  of 
examples  or  lessons  needed.  But  these,  according  to  early  concep- 
tions, to  be  valuable  must  be  true  to  the  facts.  Facts  largely  poli- 
tical and  military.  A  conception  introduced  by  Thucydides  and 
developed  by  Poly  bins. 

3.  Scientific  history.     Aim,  to  exhibit  the  past  as  it  was  and  to  explain  how 

it  came  to  be  what  it  was.  Content  determined  by  what  is  regarded 
as  significant  in  illustrating  the  idea  of  development  in  human 
affairs. 

c.  These  general  conceptions  correspond  roughly  to  stages  of  human  cul- 
ture. 

d.  History  generally  regarded  merely  as  a  branch  of  literature  up  to  1850. 

e.  Side  by  side  with  scientific  histories,  works  of  the  older  types  are  still 
being  produced. 

References:  Langlois  and  Seignobos,  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  History, 
pp.  63-70,  211-231,  296-321.  Bernheim,  Einleitimg  in  die  Geschichtswissen- 
schaft,  pp.  5-13,  33-43,  72-78.  Fling,  Outline  of  Historical  Method,  pp.  5-124. 
Robinson,  History,  Columbia  University  Press,  1908.  Rhodes,  in  Atlantic 
Monthly,  Vol.  LXXXV,  pp.  158-169.  Winsor,  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  Vol.  LXVI, 
pp.  289-297. 


II.  The  Problem  of  Adapting  History  to  Children 

I.  Special  Guidance  sought  in  the  "Natural"  Tastes  and  Interests 
OF  Children. 

a.  These  determined  by  experiment. 

b.  Sometimes  regarded  as  a  final  criterion. 

c.  Reinforced  by  the  culture  epoch  theory. 

d.  Conclusion:  "The  childhood  of  history  for  the  child,  the  boyhood  of 
history  for  the  boy,  the  youthhood  of  history  for  the  youth,  the  manhood  of 
history  for  the  man." 

e.  The  conclusion  interpreted. 

1.  Facts  to  be  selected  and  arranged  according  to  their  cultural  stages 

and  not  according  to  time  or  place  of  occurrence. 

2.  Manner  of  treatment  to  accord  in  general  with  the  conception  of  his- 

tory first  developed  by  the  race. 

3.  Scientific  history  thus  excluded. 

/.  General  comment :  Important  to  distinguish  between  the  natural  tastes 
and  interests  of  children  and  the  cultivated  intelligence  of  children. 


300  Appendix 


2.  Approach  from  the  Side  of  History. 

a.  Kinds  of  historical  facts. 

1.  Facts  relating  to  physical  appearance  of  men  and  their  material  en- 

vironment. 

a.  Possibility  of  direct  appeal  to  the  senses. 

b.  The  simplest  illustration  of  change  in  the  world. 

c.  Material  aspects  of  the  past  sufficiently  unlike  those  of  the  present 

to  be  interesting. 

2.  Facts  relating  to  what  men  did. 

a.  Direct  sense  appeal  not  applicable. 

b.  Only  actions  now  in  progress  can  be  observed. 

c.  With  these  as  a  basis  actions  in  progress  in  the  past  more  or  less 

readily  imaged. 

d.  That  action  appeals  to  children  an  axiom  of  history  teaching. 

3.  Facts  relating  to  thoughts  and  feelings  of  men,  the  motives  that  moved 

them  to  do  or  to  say. 

a.  Known  only  through  deeds  and  words. 

b.  Real  understanding  of  the  past  measured  by  pupil's  ability  to  enter 

this  inner  life  of  histor3^ 

c.  Important  to  recognize  difficulties  and  limitations. 

d.  The  mental  states  of  a  Clovis,  a  Charlemagne,  a  Napoleon,  or  even 

of  a  cave-man,  an  Indian,  a  pioneer,  largely  beyond  the  experience 
of  children  and  of  most  adults. 

4.  In  each  of  these  groups  the  simplest  facts  relate  to  particular  objects, 

particular  acts,  thoughts,  feelings. 

5.  Collective  facts,  facts  relating  to  social  groups,  to  institutions,  to  gen- 

eral causes  that  act  in  history,  much  more  difficult. 

a.  How  represent  a   wave    of  prosperity?    a  panic?     a  revolution? 

society  itself? 

b.  Such  expressions  made  intelligible  by  resolving  them,  so  far  as 

possible,  into  their  concrete  elements. 

b.  The  kinds  of  facts  enumerated  common  to  literary,  didactic,  and  scientific 
history. 

c.  Degree  of  difficulty  presented  by  a  given  type  of  facts  not  essentially  dif- 
ferent for  different  kinds  of  history. 

d.  A  principle  of  grading  thus  suggested  as  applicable  to  one  kind  of  history 
as  to  another. 

1.  Any  facts  readily  visualized  possible  material  for  school  history. 

2.  Clear  visualization  a  factor  in  stimulating  interest. 

3.  Clear  visualization  of  the  man,  the  act,  the  situation,  a  necessary  key 

to  his  mental  states. 

4.  Elementary  history,  therefore,  to  be  largely  descriptive  and  narrative, 

to  be  made  up  of  concrete  examples  rather  than  generalized  knowl- 
edge. 

e.  Time  and  place  relations  essential  to  the  conception  of  any  fact  as  histor- 
ical.    As  difficult  for  one  kind  of  history  as  for  another. 


Appendix  301 


/.    Special  conditions  imposed  by  scientific  history. 

1.  Facts  in  palpable  conflict  with  present  knowledge  not  to  be  regarded 

as  historical. 

2.  Facts  to  be  characteristic  of  persons,  peoples,  places,  periods;    not 

exceptional,  abnormal,  bizarre. 

3.  Facts  to  be  so  presented  as  to  exhibit  relations,  cause  and  effect, 

continuity. 

4.  Facts  to  be  so  presented  as  to  arouse  some  consciousness  of  how  we 

know  what  we  know  about  the  past  and  why  we  do  not  know 
more. 

5.  These  conditions  quite  possible  to  meet  within  the  limits  suggested 

by  the  principle  of  grading  already  set  forth. 
References  :  Teachers  College  Record^  November,  1908,  pp.  1-25.  Bern- 
heim,  in  Neue  Bahncn,  Vol.  X,  pp.  265-300,  337-357-  Seignobos,  UHistoire  dans 
V Enseignement  secondaire,  pp.  3-25.  Muzzy,  in  Association  of  History  Teachers 
of  the  Middle  States  and  Maryland,  1906,  pp.  13-28,  especially  17-19.  Channing, 
in  North  Central  History  Teachers^  Association,  1907,  pp.  14-18.  Laurie,  in 
School  Review,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  655-660.  Salmon,  in  Year  Book  Society  for  Scientific 
Study  of  Education,  1902,  pp.  47-54;  McMurry,  in  same,  1903,  pp.  47-51. 
American  Historical  Association,  1905,  pp.  135-145.  Hinsdale,  How  to  Study  and 
Teach  History,  pp.  42-52,  67-74.  Rice,  in  Educational  Review,  Vol.  XII,  pp.  169- 
179 ;  Burnham,  in  same,  Vol.  XXVII,  pp.  521-528.  Peabody,  in  National  Educa- 
tion Association,  1893,  pp.  284-285.  Barnes,  Studies  in  Historical  Method,  pp.  57- 
105.  Mace,  Method  in  History,  pp.  255-308.  Suzzallo,  in  Teachers  College 
Record,  May,  1904,  pp.  11-19;   Marker,  in  same,  pp.  20-33. 


III.    The  Question  of  Aims  and  Values 

1.  The  Faith  of  Educators  in  the  Utility  of  History  attested  by 
Programs  in  the  Subject  for  every  Grade  of  Instruction  from  the 
Kindergarten  to  the  University. 

2.  Current  Discussions  Confusing. 

a.  Aims  sometimes  defined  without  reference  to  the  nature  of  history. 
History  then  repudiated  wherever  it  happens  to  interfere  with  "the  uses  of 
history." 

h.   Aims  sometimes  inconsistent  with  each  other. 

c.  Little  to  indicate  that  one  of  the  aims  of  historical  instruction  is  to  teach 
history. 

3.  Aims  commonly  Proposed. 

a.  Discipline  —  training  of  the  memory,  the  imagination,  the  judgment. 

h.  Culture  —  "enriching  the  humanity  of  the  pupil." 

c.  Inspiration  —  furnishing  ideals  of  conduct,  patriotism,  social  service. 

d.  Practical  knowledge  —  teaching  pupils  how  to  act  in  the  present. 

e.  The  illumination  of  other  studies,  especially  literature  and  geography. 
/.  The  cultivation  of  a  taste  for  historical  reading. 


302  Appendix 


g.  The  explanation  of  the  present  —  nothing  in  the  world  to-day  really  in- 
telligible  apart  from  its  history. 

4.  Special  Modern  Emphasis  upon  the  Social  Value  of  History. 
a.   An  application  of  a  general  point  of  view  in  education. 

h.    Special  demands  upon  history. 

1.  Must  show  in  the  form  of  concrete  examples  what  society  is  and  how 

it  works. 

2.  Must  "give  a  vivid  and  intense  realization  of  social  duties  and  obliga- 

tions." 

5.  Pertinent  Questions. 

a.   Are  the  aims  proposed  in  fact  promoted  by  a  given  kind  of  instruction  ? 
h.    Are  they  promoted  as  effectively  as  they  might  be  by  some  other  kind  of 
instruction  ? 

c.    Are  they  the  most  useful  of  the  possible  ends  that  history  might  serve  ? 

6.  Observations  and  Experimient  needed  to  furnish  Data  for  An- 
swers. 

References:  McMurry,  Special  Method  in  History,  pp.  1-17.  Kemp,  Out- 
line of  Method  in  History,  pp.  104-113.  Barnes,  Studies  in  Historical  Method,  pp. 
io6-i2i.  Lloyd,  in  Spencer,  Aims  and  Practice  of  Teaching,  pp.  141-148.  Rice, 
History  and  Literature,  pp.  3-26,  149-166.  Woodward,  in  Essays  on  Teaching  of 
History  by  Maitland  and  others,  pp.  69-78.  Hinsdale,  How  to  Study  and  Teach 
History,  pp.  2-17.  Bourne,  Teaching  of  History  and  Civics,  pp.  77-92.  Year 
Book,  Herbart  Society,  1898,  pp.  25-56.  Snedden,  in  Journal  of  Pedagogy,  Vol. 
XIX,  pp.  259-268.  Proceedings,  National  Education  Association,  1892,  pp. 
348-352;  1894,  pp.  397-412;  1895,  pp.  139-142,  306-308;  1896,  pp.  410-413. 
Report,  Committee  of  Seven,  pp.  158-162.  Kirk,  in  Education,  Vol.  XVI,  pp.  15- 
18 ;  Crawford,  in  same,  Vol.  XXII,  pp.  281-286 ;  Mc:\Iahon,  in  same,  Vol.  XXIII, 
pp.  109-114.  Langlois  and  Seignobos,  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  History,  p. 
331.  Lea,  in  American  Historical  Review,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  233-246.  Harrison, 
Meaning  of  History,  pp.  1-23.  Teachers  College  Record,  November,  1909,  pp. 
55-56. 

IV.     The  History  Program  for  the  Elementary  School 

I.  The  Preparatory  Period  —  The  First  Three  or  Four  Years. 

a.  Myths,  fairy  tales,  fables,  Oriental,  Greek,  Roman,  later  European. 
Some  use  of  American  folk  lore. 

b.  Simple  biographies  from  American  or  world  history.  May  or  may  not 
be  arranged  chronologically. 

c.  Stories  connected  with  anniversaries,  birthdays,  Thanksgiving,  Christmas. 

d.  Stories  from  the  Bible. 

e.  Stories  of  primitive  life. 
/.    Stories  of  inventions. 

g.    Stories  from  local  history. 

h.   Various  studies  of  a  geographical  or  sociological  character. 
i.    Several  or  all  of  these  types  of  material  may  be  represented  in  a  single  pro- 
gram. 


Appendix  303 


j.    Some  schools  carry  this  kind  of  work  into  higher  grades. 

2.  The  Intermediate  Stage  —  Fifth  anc  Sixth  Years. 
a.   Beginnings  of  textbook  instruction. 

h.    More  attention  to  chronological  order  and  geological  setting. 

c.  Subject :  ancient  history,  the  Middle  Ages,  English  history,  Americaa 
history.     Chief  emphasis  on  American  history. 

d.  Material  usually  biographical. 

e.  Some  schools  begin  this  stage  of  work  in  the  fourth  year. 

3.  The  Last  Two  Years. 

a.   Subject  usually  the  United  States. 
&.   The  subject  often  divided. 

1.  Colonial  period  for  the  seventh  year. 

2.  Later  period  for  the  eighth  year. 

c.  Some  schools  have  English  history  in  the  seventh  year. 

d.  Civics  frequently  combined  with  history,  especially  in  the  eighth  year. 

e.  Occasionally  some  Greek  and  Roman  or  general  European  history  in  one 
or  both  of  these  years. 

4.  The  Program  proposed  by  the  Committee  of  Eight. 
First  grade :    Indian  Hfe.     Explanation  of  holidays. 
Second  grade  :   Indian  life.     Holidays.     Local  history. 
Third  grade :    Heroes  of  other  times.     Holidays. 

Fourth  grade :  Historical  scenes  and  persons  in  American  history,  colonial 
period. 

Fifth  grade :  Historical  scenes  and  persons  in  American  history  continued. 
Great  industries  of  the  present. 

Sixth  grade :    European  background  of  American  history. 

Seventh  grade  :  American  history  to  the  Revolution.  European  background 
continued. 

Eighth  grade :  The  United  States  since  the  Revolution.  Great  events  in 
European  history. 

References:  Bourne,  Teaching  of  History  aiid  Civics,  pp.  72-74,  106-114, 
353-365.  Reports  of  Committees:  Committee  of  Ten,  pp.  163,  177-181;  of 
Fifteen,  pp.  62-67  5  of  Twelve,  pp.  171,  174-175  ;  of  Seven,  pp.  162-172  ;  of  Eight, 
pp.  1-91 ;  Salmon,  in  Year  Book,  Society  for  Scientific  Study  of  Education,  1902, 
pp.  31-60.  McMurry,  Special  Method  in  History,  pp.  18-33,  238-268.  Kemp, 
Outline  of  Method  in  History,  pp.  133-263.  Elementary  School  Record,  Vol.  I, 
No.  8,  pp.  199-216.  Rice,  History  and  Literature,  pp.  27-74.  Magnusson,  in 
New  York  Teachers  Monographs,  March,  1903,  pp.  90-97.  Greene,  History  in 
the  Kitzdergarten.  Warfield,  in  Education,  Vol.  XIV,  pp.  1-5.  Gordy  and  Twitch- 
ell,  Pathfinder  in  American  History,  Part  I,  pp.  43-50;  Part  II,  pp.  5-20.  Pro- 
ceedings, National  Education  Association,  1892,  pp.  310-316 ;  1905,  pp.  304-308, 
360-370;  1897,  pp.  58-67.  Payne,  Elementary  School  Curricula,  pp.  22,  24- 
39,  50- 

V.     General  Methods  of  Instruction 

I.  The  Preparatory  Period  —  the  First  Three  or  Four  Years. 
a.  Presentation  of  material  usually  oral. 


304  Appendix 


I. 


Reading  the  story. 


2.  Telling  the  story.  ! 

3.  Developing  the  story  by  questions.  ■ 

4.  Pointing  the  moral.  I 
h.   The  children's  part  in  the  lesson.                                                                          i 

1.  Telling  the  story.  j 

2.  Writing  the  story,  j 

3.  Solving  problems  suggested  by  the  story. 
c.    Stories  of  the  preparatory  period  may  be  so  managed  as  to  form  a  real  basis 

for  later  history  —  training  in  putting  things  together,  in  seeing  simple  relations, 
in  developing  a  sense  of  continuity. 

2.  The  Intermediate  Stage  —  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Years. 
a.   Some  oral  presentation  along  the  lines  indicated  for  the  preparatory  period. 
h.   The  general  tendency  toward  textbook  work.  i 

1.  Regular  lessons  assigned  and  recited.  . 

2.  The  lesson  read  with  the  class  during  the  history  period. 

c.  Character  of  the  textbooks.  i 

1.  Rarely  the  work  of  historical  experts.  i 

2.  Aim  to  tell  a  story  rather  than  history.  \ 

3.  Accuracy  a  minor  consideration.  j 

4.  Show  little  sense  of  historical  proportion.  i 

5.  Their  merit  is  that  children  can  understand  them.  ! 

6.  Some  recent  books  conceived  in  a  more  serious  spirit  and  much  bettci      j 

as  history.  I 

d.  The  use  of  maps,  pictures,  and  other  special  aids  to  visualization  increasing.      ! 
Still  much  to  be  desired.  j 

3.  The  Last  Two  Years. 

a.  Textbook  work  becomes  more  formal. 

6.   Types  of  textbook  recitations.  , 

1.  "Hearing"  the  lesson.  \ 

a.  Teacher  announces  the  heading  of  paragraph  or  opening  words  of 

sentence.  ; 

b.  Pupil  carries  the  story  forward  until  relieved  by  "next," 

c.  A  test  of  memory.  i 

2.  The  question  and  answer  method.  ; 
a.  Teachers'  questions  suggest  analysis  of  text.  \ 
h.    Short  answers  by  pupil. 

c.    Memory  test  prominent.  i 

3.  A  good  general  plan.  ', 
a.   Teacher  announces  topic. 

h.    Pupil  tells  what  he  knows  about  it. 

c.  Corrections,  additions,  and  questions  by  other  members  of  class, 

d.  Corrections  and  additions  by  teacher. 

e.  Questions  by  teacher  designed  to  apply  what  has  been  learned.  j 

1.  Comparison  with  other  topics  previously  studied.  | 

2.  Comparison  with  conditions  in  the  present.  i 
c.    The  use  of  two  or  more  textbooks.                                                                        ; 


Appendix  305 


1.  The  pupil  prepares  his  lesson  from  two  or  more  different  books. 

2.  Different  pupils  have  diff'erent  books. 

3.  Aim  to  bring  out  difference  in  point  of  view  or  in  statement  of  facts 

with  a  view  to  making  pupils  think. 

d.  Outside  reading. 

1.  Other  textbooks. 

2.  Poems  and  novels. 

3.  Some  references  to  standard  histories  arfd  to  simpler  primary  sources. 

e.  Notebooks. 

1.  Making  and  keeping  outlines. 

2.  Reports  of  outside  reading. 

3.  Reports  of  class  discussions. 

/.    The  use  of  maps,  pictures,  and  other  special  aids  increasing. 
g.    Character  of  the  textbooks. 

1.  A  number  of  recent  books  written  by  competent  students  of  history. 

2.  Reasonably  good  as  history. 

3.  Inferior  to  more  elementary  books  as  apparatus  for  teaching. 

4.  Responsibility  for  the  "whole    story"  tends  to   reduce  textbooks  to 

outlines  and  tempts  to  generalizations  which  are  largely  meaning- 
less to  children. 

5.  The  class  recitation  thus  in  danger  of  becoming  an  exercise  in  mere 

words. 
Refeeences  :  Bryant,  Eow  to  Tell  Stones  to  Children,  pp.  13-21,  83-109.  Mc- 
Murry,  Special  Method  in  History,  pp.  50-85.  Hinsdale,  How  to  Study  and  Teach 
History,  pp.  53-66.  Bourne,  Teaching  of  History  and  Civics,  pp.  148-168.  Gordy  and 
Twitchell,  Pathfinder  in  American  History.  Foltz,  zur  Methode  des  Geschichts- 
unterrichts,  pp.  174-216.     Teachers  College  Record,  November,  1908,  pp.  26-32. 


VI.    The  Biographical  Approach  to  History 

I  What  the  Biographical  Method  is. 

a.  The  study  of  individual  men  and  women  as  individuals. 

b.  The  study  of  individual  men  and  women  as  representatives  of  movements, 
periods,  social  groups. 

c.  The  persons  selected  for  study  usually  great  or  famous. 

2.  Reasons  for  Prevalence  of  the  Method. 

a.  Offers  units  that  are  sim.ple,  concrete,  interesting. 

b.  Satisfies  ethical  demands  made  upon  historical  instruction. 

c.  German  experience  a  potent  example. 

d.  Supported  by  "great  man  theory"  of  history. 

1.  "The  history  of  what  man  has  accomplished  in  this  world  is  at  bottom 

the  history  of  the  great  men  who  have  worked  here."  —  Carlyle. 

2.  "Great  men  sum  up  and  represent  humanity."  —  Renan. 

3,  The  Kinds  of  Persons  that  interest  Children. 
a.   Men  of  primitive  instincts  —  cave-men,  Indians.! 


3o6  Appendix 

h.  Men  who  "did  things"  —  especially  brigands,  pirates,  adventurers, 
generals,  kings. 

c.  These  types  fully  exploited  in  books  for  children.  Possibly  cause  as  well 
as  effect  of  children's  tastes. 

d.  Relatively  few  tests  of  children's  attitude  toward  scholars,  writers,  artists. 
4.   General  Criticism. 

a.   Personal  element  essential  to  school  history. 

h.   Events  can  to  some  extent  be  grouped  about  individuals. 

c.  But  "great  man  theory"  not  well  applied. 

1.  Persons  selected  for  study  often  not  representative.     May  be  excep- 

tional.    Often  at  best  merely  picturesque. 

2.  Historical  characters  often  distorted  for  moral  ends. 

3.  Doubtful  anecdotes  used  to  excess. 

d.  The  "great  man  theory"  not  generally  accepted  by  historians. 

e.  Individuals  often  more  easily  grouped  about  events  than  events  about 
individuals. 

/.  The  general  tendency  of  the  biographical  method  is  to  leave  a  series  of 
disconnected  impressions. 

References  :  Kemp,  Outline  of  Method  in  History,  pp.  264-295.  Hinsdale, 
Hovj  to  Study  and  Teach  History,  pp.  30-31,  44-45.  Bourne,  Teaching  of  History 
atui  Civics,  pp.  iS-20,  86,  356.  Mace,  Method  in  History,  pp.  289-294.  Lawless,  in 
Nineteenth  Century,  Vol.  L,  pp.  790-798.  Bemheim,  in  Neue  Bahnen,  Vol.  X, 
pp.  338-342. 

\TI.     The  Social  and  Economic  Point  of  View 

1.  Great  Men  not  excluded,  but  the  "Masses"  included. 

2.  Emphasis  lton  Social  and  Economic  Conditions,  — 
Occupations,  industries,  inventions,  commerce,  manners  and  customs,  edu- 
cation, amusements,  food,  dress,  upon  whatever  serves  to  illustrate  the  com- 
mon life. 

3.  The  Point  of  Departure. 

a.  The  daily  life  and  material  environment  of  the  community  in  which  the 
school  is  situated. 

h.  The  development  of  some  special  invention,  trade,  art,  industry,  related 
to  the  immediate  neighborhood. 

c.  The  constructive  activities  of  children  —  sewing,  weaving,  cooking,  mak- 
ing furniture. 

d.  Local  history. 

4.  Application  to  History  in  General. 

a.   Limited  by  the  nature  of  the  material  available. 
h.    Difficult  to  arrange  a  connected  narrative. 

c.  German  experience  —  Biedermann's  Kidturbilder.  The  conditions  of  Ger- 
man life  at  selected  stages  described,  compared,  and  contrasted. 

5.  A  Growing  Recognition  of  the  General  Point  of  View. 

a.  Influence  of  democratic  ideals. 

b.  Industrial  education  an  important  factor  in  securing  change  of  emphasis. 


Appendix  307 


c.  An  enlarged  view  of  history. 

1.  Carlyle's  protest  against  the  older  historians. 

2.  Macaulay's  theory  of  history. 

3.  The  work  of  John  Richard  Green. 

4.  McMaster's  People  of  the  United  States, 

d.  The  economic  interpretation  of  history. 

e.  Material  supplied  by  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society , 
10  volumes,  to  be  published,  1909-1910. 

References  :  Dopp,  Place  of  Industries  in  Edtccation,  pp.  97-260.  Rice,  in 
Year  Book,  Society  for  Scientific  Study  of  Education,  1903,  pp.  9-14.  Wood, 
Report  on  Teaching  History,  pp.  11-17.  Lamprecht,  What  is  History?  pp.  3-35. 
Dodd,  in  Popular  Science  Monthly,  Vol.  LXIII,  pp.  418-424.  Seligman,  Economic 
Interpretation  of  History.  Biedermann,  Geschichtsunterricht  .  .  .  nach  Ktdturge- 
schichtlicher  Methode,  pp.  5-45.     Bernheim,  in  Neue  Bahnen,  Vol.  X,  pp.  285-300. 

VIII.     Making  the  Past  Real 

1.  Where  the  Textbooks  Fail. 

a.  Reading  matter  usually  insufficient  for  clear  images  of  material  aspects 
of  the  past  or  for  definite  impressions  of  past  mental  states. 

b.  Within  certain  limits  definiteness  and  simplicity  secured  by  brevity  of 
statement. 

c.  But  the  principle  of  making  a  thing  elementary  by  not  saying  much 
about  it  carried  too  far. 

d.  Stories  inherently  simple  often  expanded ;  those  inherently  difficult  often 
abridged.  School  history  would  be  more  intelligible  if  the  conditions  were 
reversed. 

2.  Special  Aids  to  Visualization. 

a.  Material  remains  in  vicinity  of  school.     Visits  to  historic  places. 

b.  Casts,  models,  pictures,  visualization  charts,  maps. 

c.  The  stereoscope,  lantern,  and  other  similar  apparatus.     Moving  pictures. 

d.  Illustrations  in  textbooks. 
5.  Historical  albums. 

3.  "Living  the  Past." 

a.  Exaggerated  views  illustrated  by  demand  that  pupil  "identify  himself 
completely  with  the  thought,  passion  and  resolution  of  the  time"  under  con- 
sideration. 

1.  Such  a  demand  scarcely  met  by  the  most  expert  historians. 

2.  Realism  of  this  type  not  attainable  by  children  and  not  even  desirable. 
o.    Some  impression  of  how  men  thought  and  felt  essential. 

c.    Special  aids. 

I.   A  man's  own  words  expressed  in  letters,  diaries,  personal  reminiscences, 
speeches,  state  papers. 

a.  Value  varies  with  character  of  person  and  circumstances  of  utter* 

ance. 

b.  Words  often  no  clue  to  real  sentiments  of  author. 


3o8  Appendix 


2.  Characteristic  stories  and  anecdotes. 

3.  Dramatization  of  history. 

a.  Plays  composed  by  children.    May  be  based  on  good  historical 

material. 

b.  Ready-made  plays  less  effective. 

c.  Historical  pageants. 

d.  Historical  drama  of  the  professional  stage. 

4.  Imaginary  letters,  diaries,  speeches,  prepared  by  pupils.     Answering 

the  questions:    "How   should   I   have   felt?"     "What   should  I 
have  said  or  done  ?  " 

5.  Historical  poems  and  novels. 

a.  Value  for  history  easily  exaggerated. 

b.  A  distinction  to  be  made  between  those  that  are  contemporary 

with  scenes  represented  and  those  that  are  merely  later  attempts 
at  reconstruction. 
C.  General  use  in  school  due  in  part  to  tradition  which  so  long  made 
history  a  mere  branch  of  literature,  in  part  to  more  general 
acquaintance  with  this  kind  of  material  than  with  material  more 
distinctly  historical. 

6.  Material  supplied  by  detailed  histories. 

References:  Teachers  College  Record,  November,  1908, pp.  12-25.  Wilson, 
Mere  Literature,  pp.  161-1S6.  Crothers,  Gentle  Reader,  pp.  167-200.  Stephens,  in 
California  University  Chronicle,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  159-168;  French  Revolution,  Yo\.  II, 
p.  361.  Matthews,  in  Fon/OT,  Vol.  XXIV,  pp.  79-91-  Langlois  and  Seignobos, 
Introduction  to  the  Study  of  History,  pp.  215-225,  301,  319,  note.  Seignobos, 
L'Histoire  dans  V Enseignenient  secondaire,  pp.  15-19. 

IX.    Time  and  Place  Relations 

1.  Time  Sense  in  Children. 

a.  Rudimentary  at  age  of  entering  school.  "Yesterday,"  "last  week," 
"last  month,"  have  a  meaning.     "One  hundred  years  ago"  has  not. 

b.  The  sense  develops  slowly.  Even  children  of  twelve  or  thirteen  often 
measure  short  periods  of  time  vaguely. 

c.  From  this  an  argument  advanced  against  dating  any  events  in  distant 
past  for  children.     Can  mean  only  "a  long  time  ago." 

d.  The  difficulty  in  part  removec  by  objective  assistance  —  chart,  rolls, 
knotted  cords,  and  other  devices. 

e.  Dates  properly  introduced  at  least  as  early  as  the  fifth  year. 

2.  Dates  to  be  remembered. 

a.  Famous  events. 

b.  Important  events. 

c.  A  few  in  each  year  fixed  as  a  permanent  possession. 

d.  Evidence  at  present  of  recovery  from  extreme  reaction  against  learning 
dates. 

3.  The  Place  Relation. 


Appe7idix  309  \ 


a.  The  way  prepared  by  geography. 

h.   Maps  to  be  introduced  as  soon  as  children  have  learned  to  read  them. 

c.  Two  kinds  of  historical  geography. 

1.  Contemporary  maps. 

2.  Modern  maps. 

d.  School  history  should  show  how  events  were  influenced  by  geographic 
conditions.     Natural  features  of  the  earth  determine  in  great  part : 

1.  Climate,  productions,  physical  development,  employments,  habits. 

2.  Facilities  for  commerce. 

3.  Advantages  for  military  and  naval  defense  or  aggression. 

4.  Intellectual  tendencies,  but  to  a  less  extent. 

e.  Place  relation  to  be  fixed  under  same  conditions  as  time  relation. 
References:  Hinsdale,  Eow  to  Study  and  Teach  History,  pp.  75-100;   iii- 

126.  Vaughan,  in  Contemporary  Review,  Vol.  V,  pp.  29-49.  Turner,  in  Year  Book, 
Herhart  Society,  1899,  pp.  7-41.  Semple,  American  History  and  its  Geographic 
Conditions.  Brigham,  Geographic  Influence  in  American  History  Report,  New 
England  History  Teachers'  Association,  1907. 


X.     School  History  and  the  Historical  Method 

1.  History  for  School  Purposes  usually  treated  as  a  Body  of  Assured 
Knowledge. 

a.  The  problem  of  elementary  instruction  held  to  be  interpretation  and  not 
criticism. 

h.  Controversial  matters  omitted  so  far  as  possible. 

c.  Little  to  indicate  varying  degrees  of  probability  in  historical  facts. 

d.  Uncertainties  covered  by  dogmatism  of  textbooks. 

2.  Raising  the  Question  of  How  we  know. 
a.  Makes  for  more  intelligent  view  of  history. 

h.   Often  adds  to  interest  in  the  subject. 

c.  Affords  material  for  exercise  of  reasoning  power. 

d.  Directl}'-  related  to  everyday  problems. 

e.  The  question  usually  excluded  from  elementary  history  on  ground  of  the 
difficulties  involved. 

3.  A  Simple  Approach  suggested. 

a.   When  anything  has  happened  we  may  know  about  it  because : 

1.  We  were  present  when  it  happened  —  direct  observation. 

2.  Some  one  has  told  us  —  oral  "raditlon. 

3.  We  have  read  about  it  —  written  or  printed  tradition. 

4.  We  have  seen  a  picture  of  it  —  pictorial  tradition. 
h.    In  how  many  ways  may  we  know 

1.  That  John  was  absent  from  school  yesterday? 

2.  That  Lincoln  delivered  an  address  at  Gettysburg  in  1863? 

3.  That  the  "Mayflower"  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  1620? 

c.    Which  is  the  best  way  to  know  about  a  thing  that  has  happened?     Is 


3IO  Appendix 


that  way  always  possible  ?    Why  ?     How  do  we  get  most  of  our  knowledge  ol 
things  that  have  happened? 
d.   Application  to  material  remains. 

In  how  many  ways  may  we  know  about 

1.  The  spelling-books  of  our  grandfathers? 

2.  The  bows  and  arrows  used  by  Indians  ? 

3.  The  house  that  George  Washington  lived  in  at  Mount  Vernon? 

4.  Some  Simple  Illustrations  of  Problems  connected  with  Histori- 
cal Method. 

a.  The  story  of  how  the  Egyptians  found  out  that  they  were  not  the  oldest 
people  in  the  world.     Herodotus,  Book  II,  chapter  2. 

1.  How  did  Herodotus  know  ? 

2.  Is  the  story  true  ? 

h.  Petrarch's  troubles  in  getting  books  copied.  Robinson  and  Rolfe,  Pe- 
trarch, p.  28. 

c.  The  adventures  of  the  manuscript  of  Bradford's  History  of  Plymouth 
Plantation.     Introduction  to  edition  published  by  the  State  of  Massachusetts. 

d.  The  boundary  provisions  of  a  colonial  charter.  Teachers  College  Recordy 
November,  1908,  pp.  40-43. 

5.  Such  Exercises  necessarily  Limited  in  Number. 

References  :  Teachers  College  Record,  November,  1908,  pp.  33-44.  Historical 
Sources  in  Schools,  Report  to  New  England  History  Teachers^  Association,  pp.  1-17. 
Bourne,  Teaching  of  History  and  Civics,  pp.  169-187. 


XL    Historical  Reading  for  Children 

1.  Books  designed  especially  for  Children. 
a.   Principles  of  grading  not  well  defined. 

h.  Many  books  needlessly  inaccurate. 

c.  Literary  style  often  bad. 

d.  Some  unnecessary  "writing  down"  to  children. 

2.  The  Use  of  Standard  Histories. 

c.  Availability  of  historical  works  for  school  purposes  not  in  inverse  ratio 
to  size  and  scientific  value. 

1.  Treatment  of  special  topics  often  simpler  and  more  concrete  than 

treatment  of  same  topics  in  textbooks. 

2.  Many  passages  in  detailed  histories  and  biographies  of  special  interest 

to  children. 
a.   Some  of  these  can  be  read  by  children. 
h.    Some  can  be  read  to  children. 

c.  A  factor  in  cultivating  taste  for  history. 

d.  Talks  about  writers  of  important  works  stimulate  interest  in  the 

works. 

3.  Real  obstacles  to  more  general  use. 
a.   Cost  of  standard  histories. 


Appendix  311 


h.   Lack  of  acquaintance  with  such  works  on  the  part  of  elementary 
teachers. 
4.   Much  good  material  available  in  abridgments  and  volumes  of  extracts. 

3.  Teaching  Children  how  to  use  Books. 
a.   Indexes  and  tables  of  contents. 
h.    Attention  to  marginal  references  and  footnotes. 

c.  Special  questions  to  give  facility  in  finding  and  using  books. 

d.  The  number  of  books  need  not  be  large. 

4.  Management  of  Collateral  Reading.  j 
a.  Class  divisions.  | 
h.    Special  library  periods.  I 

c.  Books  used  outside  of  library  periods.  i 

d.  Books  taken  home.  i 

e.  References  to  be  exact.  < 
/.  References  to  be  posted  in  library.  ] 
g.    Pupil's  record  of  readings.                                                                                                    I 

1.  Full  name  of  author.  , 

2.  Full  title  of  book. 

3.  Publishers,  place,  and  date  of  publication.  | 

4.  Number  of  pages  read.  I 

5.  Personal  impression.  \ 
References  :  Andrews,  Gambrill  and  Tall,  Bibliography  of  History  for  Schools  | 

and  Libraries;  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Eight;  Teachers  College  Record,  No- 
vember, 1908,  pp.  45-50.  Parsons  in  Educational  Review,  Vol.  XXIII,  pp.  400-  | 
406.  McMurry,  Special  Method  in  History,  pp.  271-291.  Rice,  History  and  ' 
Literature,  pp.  167-187.  Mace,  Method  in  History,  pp.  309-311.  Gordy  and  | 
Twitchell,  Pathfinder  in  American  History,  Part  I,  pp.  101-102 ;  Part  II,  j 
PP-  235-251.  SuUivan,  in  Metropolitan  Teacher,  November,  1904,  pp.  193-198.  j 

1 


INDEX 


Accuracy  in  practice,  46,  98. 
Adenoids,  signs  of,  141. 
Adjustment,  types  of,  32,  33,  34. 
Aim  in  inductive  lesson,  55. 
Aim  of  education,  i. 
Allen,  W.  H.,  quoted,  141, 
Application,  63. 
Appreciation  and  emotion,  80. 

In  relation  to  study,  87,  88. 

Lesson  for,  78-84. 

Other  than  that  involving  the  aesthetic 
emotions,  82,  83,  84. 

Power  of,  79. 
Assignments,  172. 

Association,  importance  of  in  recall,  loi. 
Attention,  types  of,  35. 

Means  of  holding,  45. 

Bagley,  W.  C,  referred  to,  164. 
Baldwin,  W.  A.,  referred  to,  135. 

Cautions  concerning  the  inductive  lesson, 

63,  64,  65. 
Class  Management,  157. 

As  a  means,  158. 

As  an  end,  159. 
Comparison  and  abstraction,  59. 
Concrete  work,  57. 
Constructiveness,  17. 
Contagious  and  infectious  diseases,  140. 
Contribution   by    children   to    discussion, 

134- 
Cooperation,  illustrations  of,  132,  133. 

Of  parents,  136,  142. 
Course  of  Study,  232. 

Making  of,  233. 
Creative  work,  81. 
Criticism  of  teachers'  work,  225. 
Criticism,  types  of,  225,  226. 
Cubberley,  E.  P.,  referred  to,  252. 
Curiosity,  20. 


Daily  program,  161. 

Data,  collection  of  by  children, 

Deductive  lesson,  70. 


89,  90. 


Demonstration,  229. 
Dewey,  John,  quoted,  26. 

Referred  to,  65. 
Direct  instruction  in  morals,  150. 
Discussion  by  pupils,  131. 
Drill  lesson,  41. 

Earhart,  Lida  B.,  referred  to,  87. 
Eliot,  Charles  W.,  referred  to,  64. 
Elliott,  E.  C,  referred  to,  252. 
Emulation,  19. 
Examination  lesson,  loi. 
Examinations,  228. 

As  measure  of  teachers'  work,  104. 

Best  type  of,  103,  104. 
Excursions,  58. 
Experience  of  children,  14. 

Reconstructed,  32. 
Experimentation  by  teachers,  254. 
Experts,  children  as,  64. 
Expression  slovenly,  iii. 

Formal  discipline,  235. 

Generalization,  62. 
Group  instruction,  162. 

Habit  formation,  43. 

Habits,   teaching  children   how  to   form, 

97. 
Heating  and  ventilating,  140. 
Heck,  W.  H.,  referred  to,  235. 
Heredity,  27. 
Hygiene  and  morality,  149. 

Ideals,  9. 

Illustrative  material,  171. 
Imitation,  18. 
Independent  work,  9,  13. 
Indirect  instruction  in  morals,  150. 
Individual  and  society,  2. 
Individual  differences,  239. 
Individual  instruction,  163. 
Individualistic  attitude,  iii. 
Inductive  lesson,  the,  51. 


313 


314 


Index 


Industrial  arts,  236. 

Opportunity  in,  for  cooperation,  132. 
Inference,  75. 
Instincts,  15-24. 
Institutes,  230. 
Intellectual  education,  5. 
Interest,  and  effort,  24,  25,  26,  27. 

As  an  end,  8. 
Interpreter,  teacher  as,  81. 

Jackman,  W.  S.,  referred  to,  137. 
James,  William,  quoted,  6. 
Judgments,  tentative,  67,  90. 

Language,  in  relation  to  reasoning,  61-62. 

Vague,  III. 
Leisure,  training  for,  6. 
Lesson  Plans,  167. 

Deductive  lesson  in  arithmetic,  181. 

Deductive  lesson  in  geography,  197. 

For  a  drill  lesson,  180. 

For  appreciation,  202,  212. 

In  arithmetic,  177. 

In  history,  183. 

In  nature  study,  195. 

On  irrigation,  175. 

Reasons  for,  167,  168. 
Lighting  schoolrooms,  139. 

McMurry,  C.  A,  and  F.  M.,  referred  to, 

54. 
McMurry,  F.  M.,  quoted,  7. 

Referred  to,  87,  169. 

And  Smith,  D.  E.,  referred  to,  103. 
Measuring  results  in  education,  247. 
Memorization,  92,  93. 

By  wholes,  93,  94,  95. 
Moral-social  education,  5. 
Moral  training,  145. 
Motives,  42,  130,  136,  236,  237,  238. 

Notes  and  annotating,  89. 

Objective  work,  57. 
Observations,  58. 

Organization  of  material,  168,  169. 
Outline  prepared  by  pupils,  108. 
Ownership,  21. 

Physical  condition  and  morality,  149, 
Physical  education,  5. 


Physical  welfare  of  children,  139. 

Play,  16. 

Preparatory  step,  51-56. 

Presentation,  56. 

Principles  in  deductive  lesson,  74. 

Problems,  118. 

Children's,  53,  169. 

In  deductive  lesson,  74. 

In  recitation  lesson,  108. 
Pugnacity,  20. 
Punishments,  154. 
Pupil  participation  in  school  government, 

160. 
Pyle,  W.  H.,  and  Snyder,  J.  C,  quoted,  94. 

Questioning,  114. 
Direct,  114. 
Alternative,  114. 
Suggestive,  115. 
Large  scope,  116. 
Planning,  116. 
Novelty  of  form,  117. 
Technique  of,  119,  120. 
By  children,  130,  131. 

Questions,  pivotal,  170. 
Preparation  of,  171. 
Pupils,  120. 

Recitation  lesson,  the,  107. 

Reflection,  72,  91. 

Repetition,  44. 

Responsibility,  increased,  of  school,  146. 

Review  for  perspective,  102. 

Review  lesson,  loi. 

Review,  purpose  of,  loi. 

Rugh,  C.  E.,  quoted,  153. 

Russell,  Jas.  E.,  referred  to,  235. 

Scales  or  units  of  measurement,  253. 

School  exhibits,  226. 

School,  the,  its  functions,  12. 

Scientific  work  in  education,  249. 

Scott,  C.  A.,  referred  to,  137. 

Seat  work,  164. 

Smith,    D.    E.,  and    McMurry,    F.    M., 

referred  to,  103. 
Snyder,  J.  C,  and  Pyle,  W.  H.,  quoted,  94. 
Social  instinct,  22. 
Social  phases  of  the  recitation,  129. 
Standards  in  education,  105. 
Stevenson's  Bed,  in  Summer,  quoted,  94,  95. 


Index 


315 


Stone,  C.  W.,  quoted,  255. 

Referred  to,  105. 
Study  lesson,  the,  86-99. 
Study,  methods  of,  in  relation  to  methods 

of  teaching,  86-91. 
Summaries,  in  plans,  171- 
Supervision,   the    teacher  in  relation  to, 

224. 
Supplementing  the  textbook,  no. 
Suzzallo,  Henry,  referred  to,  61. 

Teacher,  influence  of,  154. 
Teachers'  meetings,  229. 
Technique  involved  in  creation  related  to 
appreciation,  79. 


Textbooks,  use  of,  108-109. 

Thinking  in  relation  to  memorization,  94. 

Thorndike,  E.  L.,  referred  to,  27,  28,  105. 

235,  252. 
Titchener,  referred  to,  35. 
Topical  outlines,  102. 
Topical  recitation,  107. 
Types,  teaching  by,  66. 

Verification,  75,  97. 
The  habit  of,  92. 
Visiting,  school,  227. 
Vocational  education,  5. 

Wonder,  23. 


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A  Cyclopedia  of  Education 

Edited  by  PAUL  MONROE,  Ph.D. 

professor  of  the  History  of  Education,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University-; 

Author  of  "A  Text-Book  in  the  History  of  Education,"  "  Brief 

Course  in  the  History  of  Education,"  etc 


fhe  need  of  such  work  is  evidenced:  By  the  great  mass  of  varied  educatioiai 
literature  showing  an  equal  range  in  educati(?nal  practice  and  theory;  by 
the  growing  importance  of  the  school  as  a  social  institution,  and  the  fuller 
recognition  of  education  as  a  social  process ;  and  by  the  great  increase  in 
the  number  of  teachers  and  the  instability  of  tenure  which  at  the  same 
time  marks  the  profession. 

The  men  who  need  it  are :  All  teachers,  professional  men,  editors,  ministers, 
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intimately  connected  with  education  —  every  one  who  appreciates  the  value 
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Among  the  departmental  Editors  associated  with  Dr.  Monroe  are  Dr.  Elmer 
E.  Brown,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  Prof.  E.  F.  BuCHNER,  of 
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the  book  of  interest,  even  to  the  general  reader. 


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64-66  FUth  Avenue,  Nev  York 


By  WILLIAM  CHANDLER  BAGLEY 

Director  of  the  School  of  Education,  University  of  Illinois 

Craftsmanship  in  Teaching 

Cloth^  i2mo,  247  pages,  $1.25 

Readers  of  "The  Educative  Process"  and  "Classroom  Management' 
by  Director  W.  C.  Bagley  of  the  University  of  Illinois  will  welcome  the 
author's  new  book  on  "  Craftsmanship  in  Teaching."  The  book  is  made 
up  of  a  series  of  addresses  given  before  educational  gatherings,  the  sub- 
ject of  the  first  one  giving  the  book  its  name.  In  these  addresses  the 
personality  of  the  author  is  more  in  evidence  than  is  possible  in  his  more 
systematic  work,  but  the  same  sane,  scientific  point  of  view  is  apparent 
throughout. 

Classroom  Management 

Cloth,  xvii-\-  332  pages,  $1.25 

This  book  considers  the  problems  that  are  consequent  upon  the  massing 
of  children  together  for  purposes  of  instruction  and  training.  It  aims  to 
discover  how  the  unit-group  of  the  school  system  —  the  "class"  —  can  be 
most  effectively  handled.  The  topics  commonly  included  in  treatises  upon 
school  management  receive  adequate  attention;  the  first  day  of  school; 
the  mechanizing  of  routine;  the  daily  programme;  discipline  and  pun- 
ishment ;  absence  and  tardiness,  etc. 

The  Educative  Process 

Cloth,  xix-\-  358  pages,  $1.25 

The  book  aims  to  prevent  a  waste  of  energy  on  the  part  of  the  young 
teacher  by  setting  forth  a  systematic  and  comprehensive  view  of  the  task 
that  is  to  be  accomplished  by  the  school,  with  the  working  principles  for 
the  attainment  of  the  end.  The  best  idea  for  the  author's  plan  of  treat- 
ment can  be  had  from  his  division  of  the  book.  Part  I  discusses  the 
function  of  education  and  of  the  school  in  biological  and  sociological 
terms.  Part  II  continues  the  same  topic  from  the  psychological  stand- 
point. Part  III  deals  with  the  functioning  of  experience  in  its  relation  to 
the  educative  process.  Part  IV  treats  of  the  relation  of  education  to  the 
three  periods  of  child-development:  the  transitional,  the  formative,  the 
adolescent.  Part  V  considers  educational  values  and  the  necessity  of 
ideals  in  the  educative  process,  and  Part  VI  concludes  with  the  technique 
of  teaching. 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

64-66  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


